Daeizadeh 1

Zohreh Daeizadeh

Dr. Nozar Niazi

Published in Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal of Postmodern Studies, Vol. 4, no. 2,

April 2013, pp. 53-62.

A Foucauldian Study of Power, Gender and Violence in Emily Bronte’s

Wuthering Heights

Having been inspired by Foucault's ideas of power relations and discourse, New

Historicists redefined gender and identity, and the ways literary works engaged themselves in the

power relations of their age (Drabble 719). When talking about power, many perceive it as a

possession onto which the powerful hold to enforce their will over the powerless. They think of

the powerless to be in conflicts with those dominating them (Mills 34-35). However, Foucault

argues against this view, believing that power is more action rather than something which can be

owned (qtd. in Mills 35). In "Two Lectures," he mentions that power is not pointed to the powerless

by those who are considered to possess it; it is instead exercised in a "netlike organization" (98).

That said, power is a mutual interaction; thus, individuals are the "vehicles of power" (98). In the

process of exercising power, new desires, discourses, and identities are born, without necessarily

oppressing the old ones at times (98).

Unlike Marxist theory and early feminism which consider power to be only a form of

oppression and repression, or "repressive hypothesis," as Foucault puts it (qtd. in Mills 36), he

believes not only does power not limit freedom and inflict individuals; instead, it yields to new

identities by causing specific reactions and phenomena (36). Therefore, power is not only non-

destructive, but also it is a constructive force on its own. Foucault asks, "if power was never

anything but repressive if it never did anything but say no, do you really believe that we should
 Daeizadeh 2

manage to obey it?" ("Truth and Power" 119). This question implies that there must be more to

power than the negative aspect of repression, something that "induces pleasure, forms knowledge,

and produces discourse" (119). Power is not one-sided; however, when there is no resistance, it

cannot be called a power relationship (Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Vol. Ⅰ, Ⅰ). It is this

resistance to power that gives individuals the capacity to come out with new identities.

Sexualities and gender roles individuals take also shape their identities. However, Foucault

differentiates between biological sexuality and gendered identity, writing in The History of

Sexuality, Vol. Ⅰ, that sexuality is created by discourse (3-13). In the 17th century, bourgeoisie tried

to control power by controlling the discourse about sexuality because they believed in “economic

reproduction,” and that any other form of sexual pleasure outside procreative framework would be

a waste of energy (Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Vol. Ⅰ 3). Foucault, on the contrary, rejected

this “repressive hypothesis,” stating our freedom lay in being open to our sexuality as only one of

the many factors which shape an individual's identity: "Sexuality is far more of a positive product

of power than power was ever repression of sexuality" (“Truth and Power” 120). In this sense,

gender roles are not necessarily defined by sexualities anymore.

Language as a social practice is an immediate tool to produce meaning. In Foucault's

ideology, it is the primary source of power in different disciplines and a means of causing

differences and distinctions. As he states, discourse does not interpret the reality; instead, it sets

limits to our perceptions of reality by changing or limiting the discursive structures of our minds

and ignoring the unwanted or unusual reality as insane ("The Order of Discourse" 67). He argues

that we do violence to the reality of objects we perceive, changing them the way we want. For

example, in some cultures, there are no words to refer to specific colors. It does not mean they do
 Daeizadeh 3

not recognize the difference; they ignore the difference (67). Therefore, language can be used as

an effective medium to wield power.

Disciplinary power requires its tools. As Foucault argues in Discipline and Punish, being

a remarkable invention of the bourgeoisie and one of the critical elements in the making of

industrial capitalism and the inevitable society it goes with, this mechanism of power circulates

through surveillance. Giving the example of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, Foucault argued that

building a mental prison would interiorize the fear of being watched over and against; thus, the

watching guard would only be a subordinate (202-3). He believed the prisoner’s gaze “against”

himself makes him "unable" and, more importantly, "unwilling" to do wrong (202-3). As a

dehumanizing form of surveillance, it deprives the prisoner of his freedom of thought, resulting in

a "mental" rather than "physical" violence against himself (Foucault, “Two Lectures”155). In this

process, the subject of surveillance internalizes a sense of discipline and punishment.

A Historical Background to Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is a novel about history in some ways as much as a historical novel, and

British society. The historical and chronological details in the novel narrate a story more within

the early Victorian context rather than the last few decades of the eighteenth century. Early

Victorian was a place and time of significant change, and the novel reflects that, principally in the

character of Heathcliff. His determination for power and individual freedom and sexual desire

leads to derailment and frustration (Whitley XVI). Woolf states that in a society where women

were under pressure to think and write like men, Emily Bronte managed to ignore the ever-going

dominant male voice, which controlled her consciousness and wrote as a woman rather than

reacting to the external authority (75). According to Juliet Mitchell in "Femininity, narrative and
 Daeizadeh 4

psychoanalysis," Bronte did not just violate the patriarchal society; she dared to question the

patriarchal organization (391). For Mitchell, the first question is who tells the story. She asserts

Charlotte, Emily Bronte's sister, presents the manuscript stolen from Emily. Finally published

under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, the novel brings about some fame and notoriety for the author

then. Two narrators are used in the novel: a man, Lockwood, and a woman, Nelly Dean, who is

the nurse. These two tell the whole story through first-hand and second-hand narrations.

Lockwood, as a “parody of the romantic male lover," is configured as a “foppish gentleman from

the town who thinks he desires all the things the romantic gentleman is supposed to love," such as

isolation, or a “heart of gold beneath a fierce exterior” (Mitchell, "Femininity, narrative and

psychoanalysis" 391). The novel criticizes such issues mainly through the character of Isabella,

who believes that although Heathcliff is a “dark, romantic, cruel Gothic hero," he will prove to be

the true gentleman (Mitchell, “Femininity, narrative and psychoanalysis”).

Heathcliff’s character was adapted from Lord Byron’s Manfred, a self-portrait in which the

Romantic poet resembled Satan (Bloom 7). As the only reason behind existence for Heathcliff is

his obsessive love for Catherine, it is insufficient and inappropriate to call this destructive

attractiveness “love” (7). Bloom writes, in the introduction to Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights,

the affection between Heathcliff and the first Catherine is even beyond sexuality since it

emphasizes the essence of love (7). Catherine declares, “I am Heathcliff”; this is much deeper than

mere sexual bindings (7).

The Relationship Between Gender, Identity, and Power in Wuthering Heights

Both Catherines’ are symbols of contradiction in the male-dominated world of the novel.

They agitate this fragile world. Catherine Earnshaw's power and discourse overthrow Edgar
 Daeizadeh 5

Linton. Catherine Linton applies the same strategy to dominate Linton, Heathcliff, and Hareton's

patriarchal world. In the introduction to Wuthering Heights, Whitley equals power and virility with

masculinity, properties with strength, and asserts capitalism as more influential than emotions

(XVI). A behavior that helps some characters maintain their "gender-power," and consequently,

their "identity" is violence (Whitley XVI). Heathcliff gains power through accumulating wealth,

exercising violence and masculinity, and ill-treating almost everybody around him. He becomes

the owner and the lord of Heights and Grange, suppresses Hindley, marries Isabella, and makes

the second Catherine marry Linton. He has a desire to overturn the patriarchal society which

dominated his childhood; as Whitley states, his persistence to oppose the list of Earnshaws and

Lintons leads in chaos and discordance (XVI).

Heathcliff is notably sexually present in his assigned parts; he bypasses the limits bestially

and with “phallic” tools. This conflicts with Lockwood’s “possible reference masturbation” and

lack of “weapon” in his dreams (Bronte ⅩⅤⅡ). Moreover, it discords with Edgar’s dismay and

lassitude as Nelly names him “soft thing” since “he is ready to cry if crossed” (ⅩⅤⅡ). The marginal

or secondary characters who seek support from Heathcliff, Linton, Hareton, or Edgar are females

like both Catherines’ and Isabella, which is a representation of the male-dominated society and the

flowing patriarchal discourse in which women are seen as the property of men. The first Catherine

defines herself depending on Heathcliff's identity and being:

Catherine: If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else

remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger... Nelly, I

am Heathcliff. He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am

always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.

(Bronte 59)
 Daeizadeh 6

Although she means to convey her utmost love toward Heathcliff, it can also mean she does not

have an independent identity.

Discourse, Identity, and Power in Wuthering Heights

According to van Dijk, discourse acts as a conduit for power in social interactions in a

variety of forms such as “force, money, status, fame, knowledge, information, 'culture,' …and

public discourse and communication" (88). Having tormented herself by rejecting Heathcliff and

marrying Edgar, Catherine Earnshaw makes a scene of their confrontation, desiring to show

Heathcliff is superior to Edgar. Initially, Edgar dehumanizes Heathcliff by calling his presence “a

moral poison” that spoils “the most virtuous” (Bronte 83). In response to Edgar, Heathcliff turns

to Catherine, and this way, he treats Edgar like nothing, belittling his gender, identity, and power,

and expressing his sorrow about Edgar not even being worthy of “knocking down” (83). When

Cathy sees that Edgar is too weak even to defend himself, she uses degrading words against him:

"If you have not the courage to attack him, make an apology, or allow yourself to be beaten." (83).

Heathcliff completes Edgar's humiliation by referring to Cathy and saying: "… that is the

slavering, shivering thing you preferred to me! I would not strike him with my fist, but I'd kick

him with my foot and experience considerable satisfaction. Is he weeping, or is he going to faint

for fear?" (84). Here, Heathcliff defies his love competitor's identity and power. Edgar is officially

the owner of Cathy and her body, but he does not seem to be able to keep her. However, Cathy

enjoys being this patriarchal world's property; support is what she gains by being subjugated. Edgar

is so weak that he has not even tried to take her sister back since she fled with Heathcliff:
 Daeizadeh 7

Edgar: She went off her own accord… She had a right to go if she pleased. Trouble me no

more about her. Hereafter she is only my sister in name: not because I disown her, but

because she has disowned me.

(Bronte 97)

He does not want to be troubled about her because he knows he cannot do anything. Isabella is

owned by Heathcliff now. Edgar sees himself as inferior to Heathcliff, who is gaining more and

more power by owning what Edgar endears. The power relations even flow among the males in

the novel; the more properties, privileges, and wealth they have, the more powerful and manly

they are. Then, the only thing Edgar can do, as we learn from the talk between Nelly and Heathcliff,

is to put surveillance on Catherine not to talk about Heathcliff:

Heathcliff: You say she never mentions my name and that I am never mentioned to her. To

whom should she mention me if I am a forbidden topic in the house? She thinks you are

all spies for her husband. Oh, I've no doubt she's in hell among you! I guess by her silence,

as much as anything, what she feels.

(Bronte 112)

Nelly and Lockwood are the two narrators of the story, but Lockwood has less narrative

time than Nelly, and he seems more passive, more receiver of information, and a surrogate reader,

perhaps. In discourse, the time a person or character has for narration determines their power status.

Nevertheless, one cannot overlook the role that the listener plays in the game of conversation by

their desire to listen. When the listener values the speaker, they encourage the speaker to keep

talking. If they do not show any interest in the talk, then they take control of the speaker by taking

their power. To see the power of discourse in imparting authority to characters in the novel, let us

consider the following example. The situation is that Nelly has found about the letters Cathy has
 Daeizadeh 8

been sending to Linton. She threatens to tell her father about it, making Cathy beg her not to do

that, and in this way, Nelly demonstrates her authority of discourse over Cathy. Thus, the claim

that she knows about Catherine’s secret gives her power of discourse over the other. Later,

Catherine seeing she cannot do anything to make Nelly approve of her reunion with Linton, uses

Nelly’s own words to run what she wants to:

Nelly: Oh, it will be something worse… And what shall I do when papa and you leave me,

and I am by myself? I can’t forget your words, Ellen; they are always in my ear. How life

will be changed, how dreary the world will be when papa and you are dead.

(Bronte 168)

Cathy tries to win Nelly’s heart and pity as she wants to remind her of death when Cathy

will be free of her control and subjugation. In the novel, there are male characters who find it hard

to represent a self-made identity against women. Linton is such a character. He wants Cathy to

respect his sexual identity and manhood. She does not see Linton as an influential male figure who

can support her. A woman’s identity in a patriarchal world depends to a great extent on the male

to whom she is attached. Moreover, Cathy knows she will lose her identity and status by depending

on Linton. Although Cathy loves him, she is aware of male domination around her, and she would

rather have him as a sibling in order not to be possessed by him later.

The Relationship between Wealth, Power and Identity in the Novel

Manpower and wealth, in Foucault’s idea, are both representations of capital in a capitalist

society (qtd. in Rizvi). Heathcliff is an excellent example of a capitalist who has power over the

bourgeoisie who works hard for a living and benefits the ones who are superior to them by their

labor. Heathcliff takes his hands on both men and wealth. Regarding Hareton, Heathcliff makes
 Daeizadeh 9

him "live in his own house as a servant" (Bronte 137), and he uses Hareton's labor as well. His

revenge on Earnshaws and Lintons might come from disgust, but it pertains to a moral basis. He

pays them by their cruelty and knocks them down by their weapons: money and arranged

marriages. After gaining possession of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, Heathcliff

plans to take revenge on Hindley because his possession of the two households has given him

power and, as a capitalist, put him in a position of authority.

The sense of revenge in Heathcliff is highly active, and it means he has suffered a lot. Nelly

has learned to suppress her negative feelings because they are contempt in the circulating religious

discourse of society. However, Heathcliff wants to go beyond the borders by marrying Isabella of

a higher class and torturing her, taking his son to himself, and oppressing him as much as he can

and using him to seduce the second Catherine and even taking control of Hareton. So, he takes

both things and humans under his control as capitalistic properties and treats them as his tools to

earn power.

Circulation of Power and Resistance in the Novel

From the very beginning, Lockwood brings forth the background for the circulation of

power throughout the novel. He states: "1801- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord- the

solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with" (Bronte 1). This question immediately pops to the

reader’s mind that what such trouble is and why it might happen. Then there is this scene of their

introduction to each other. Lockwood deems himself to be higher in social rank to Heathcliff; he

tries to seem like a gentleman and employs polite and formal words and expressions, and in doing

so, he attempts to get power over the solitary landlord. He even calls himself ‘Mr.’.
 Daeizadeh 10

In Foucault’s ideology, where there is power, there is necessarily resistance (The History

of Sexuality, Vol. Ⅰ: An Introduction 95-96). That said, Foucault was not against the idea that power

is used oppressively; instead, he argued the oppressed also have agency of their own will in power

relations and are not only victims of power. In other words, they have a power of their own. Cathy

resists oppression from the very childhood: she throws the "Good Book" because she cannot bear

humiliation (Bronte 14). She tried to dominate Joseph in her loneliness, even if not by words but

via other mediums. In one of Cathy's books in the room, for instance, Lockwood observes the

"rudely but powerfully sketched caricature" of Joseph (21). She wished to overcome the oppression

that Joseph imposed on her. According to Dreyfus and Rabinow, a picture can be a statement, too

(45); So, we may consider it as part of the discourse. Heathcliff expects Catherine to obey him,

but she remorsefully answers him and conveys the idea that he cannot treat her that way: "I’ll put

my trash away because you can make me if I refuse,...but I'll not do anything, though you should

swear your tongue out, except what I please!” (Bronte 21). Heathcliff, seeing verbal threats do not

work, "lifts his hand": he uses physical violence, "and the speaker springs to a safer distance,

obviously acquainted with its weight" (Bronte 21).

Although he shows that he is superior in physical terms, Catherine is at least able to make

him lose his temper when answering Heathcliff rudely, and that is a victory for her because then

she knows there is this possibility to challenge his power and dominate him in some way. As was

mentioned before, Foucault believes that power is posed on free objects (qtd. in Mills 36). So,

when there is no freedom, it is not power posed on them but violence. In Bronte’s world, female

characters show nastiness and scare men off to manifest power. Males, disgusted by this exposure

to female power, avoid them, e.g., when Edgar observes how Catherine treats Nelly with violence,

he gets frightened and wants to leave the room, because he is afraid of being oppressed by her
 Daeizadeh 11

later, too. Oppression and deprivation of power are as painful as sexual castration for men. There

are many scenes throughout the novel in which the second Catherine tries to get her voice; she

tries to gain masculine traits to be able to oppose the patriarchal world power and beat the men at

their games. At last, Catherine Heathcliff becomes Mrs. Catherine Earnshaw, which means she

gets her identity, property, and thus her power back from Heathcliff. Hareton is Hindley’s son, so

it is the Earnshaws who rule the house eventually. On the other hand, Hareton symbolizes

Heathcliff in manner. So, Catherine and Heathcliff have also reunited with each other but in new

forms.

Conclusion

Wuthering Heights is characterized by power relations demonstrated through various

speech acts such as threats, flattery, mockery, belittling, revenge, and much more. As was

demonstrated, different subjects from different social and economic classes fall prey to these

power relations and then make a struggle to resist them. In other words, the circulation of power

in the network of the relationships among the characters of the novel is shown through circulating

discourse, gender, sexuality, violence, oppression, and resistance to it.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2008.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 2000.

Drabble, Margaret. (ed.). Oxford Companion to English Literature, 6th ed., Oxford

University Press, 2002.

Dreyfus, H. and Rabinow, P. (eds.) Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and

Hermeneutics, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1986.

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Penguin, 1991a.

---. The History of Sexuality, Vol. I: An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley, Penguin,

1978.

---. “The order of Discourse." Untying the Text: A Post-structuralist Reader, edited by R. Young,

Routledge, 1981, pp. 48–79.

---. "Truth and Power." Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977,

edited by Colin Gordon, translated by Colin Gordon, Leo Marshall, John Mepham, and

Kate Soper, Harvester Press, 1980, New York, pp. 109-133.

---. "Two Lectures." Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977,

edited by Colin Gordon, translated by Colin Gordon, Leo Marshall, John Mepham, and

Kate Soper, Harvester Press, 1980, New York, pp. 78-108.

Mills, Sara. Michel Foucault. Routledge, 2003.

Mitchell, Juliet. "Femininity, Narrative, and Psychoanalysis." Modern Criticism and Theory: A

Reader. Ed. David Lodge. New Delhi: Pearson, 2003. Print. 388-392.

Rizvi, Ali. M. “Foucault and Capitalist Rationality: A Reconstruction.” Market Forces, January

2006, pafkiet.edu.pk/marketforces/index.php/marketforces/article/viewFile/54/57.
 Daeizadeh 13

Van Dijk, Teun. A. Discourse and Power, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Whitley, John. S. “Introduction.” Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte. Wordsworth Editions Ltd,

2000.

Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. Harvest/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989.