In this lesson we focused on what liminal means and identified the liminal factors in the symbols themes and motifs in Wuthering Heights. If something is liminal it is "of, pertaining to, or situated at the limen(threshold)" or "the unfixed position between any two oppositional terms." Our starter helped us to discover an example of what this means. We were asked whether we would describe ourselves as a girl or woman/boy or man. After discussing this we decided that we are somewhere in-between.
We then began to think about the how liminality is used in Wuthering Heights. This seems to be in the form of the physical barriers the characters encounter and need to break down. Heathcliff is a prime example of a liminal character. He is firstly in an unfixed position within society - he is not at first accepted, is reffered to as a "gypsy brat" and has no family. Secondly, as he is named after the dead he can be seen as being in a marginal position between the living and he dead. Finally, Heathcliff is also described in a devilish light, an "imp of satan", which places him in an unclear position between the supernatural and humankind, especially as his origin is unknown.
Another threshold explored in Wuthering Heights is that between our world and the next; the living and the dead. Cathy seems to be haunted by self in the mirror, characters seem willing to trangress beyond life to reach deceased loved ones (e.g. Heathcliffs attempt to be with Catherine in the grave) and we are haunted by Catherines ghost. Ghosts are liminal as the are neither dead nor alive. Windows are used symbolically as a barrier to the unknown or unwanted from other realms (e.g. Lockwoods attempt to enter the Heights and later breaking the window to a "ghost". Eyes are also used as a pathway to the "other world", like when Heathcliff dies and his eyes wont shut.
Liminality is also used in the division between nature and culture/the Grange and the Heights (Cathy is a character that freqently passes through both.) Characters are constantly trying to cross the threshold laid out by society and class.
After reading this article and gathering ideas and understanding of liminality we worked in pairs to look more closely at aspects of the text that use this theme. From this we identified the symbols, motifs and themes that occur in Wuthering Heights and which ones are liminal.
Homework:
- Read the 'examples of writing about the uncanny" and comment on it (2 stars and a wish)
- Read the critical comments of Wuthering Heights (on sheet) and use them to write two paragraghs on Bronte's use of symbols and motifs
- Write two paragraphs summing up the idea of the liminal and how it is communicated through symbols and motifs
- Read and complete chapter summaries up to chapter 6
Excellent work here Charlotte. Really good summary of the lesson. Do you think the liminal characters and situations in the novel are a reaction against Victorian ideals? Might be a useful way to think about the Gothic - as reactionary or subversive genre. Some critics deem it a 'cultural parasite' that plays on fears/ideas of the time.
ReplyDeleteVeru good blog Charlotte. I like how you wrote about the liminality of Catherine between Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights and the diffences made by social classes.
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