The setting of the two different works Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray & Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights affect womankind

The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde and Wuthering Heights written by Emily Bronte have significant settings – “the height of the Decadent artistic movement of the late nineteenth century” (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008) and “in the late 1700s and early 1800s” (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 11). This essay will analyze how the setting of Wuthering Heights influences lives of female characters and the setting of The Picture of Dorian Gray and its effects on characters’ thought.
In Wuthering Heights, women seem to be the second-class citizens. As a result of having no legal possession of money and land, they do not own much as well as have the same power as men. For example, when Edgar is dying, he tells Nelly – the narrator to call for an attorney, Mr. Green so that “he can change his will instead of leaving Catherine’s fortune at her own disposal, he [determines] to put it in the hands of trustees for her use during life, and for her children, if she [has] any, after her. By that means, it could not fall to Mr. Heathcliff should Linton die” (Bronte, 237). The social setting of the novel also affects Catherine’s thought of marriage when telling Nelly about Edgar’s proposal that Catherine cannot marry Heathcliff because they would be “beggars.” (Bronte, 69) or she will be “the greatest woman of the neighbourhood” (Bronte, 66) if she chooses Edgar Linton. In addition, when the first narrator – Mr. Lockwood asks for guiding back to his rented house – Thrushcross Grange when he cannot come back, Catherine – Heathcliff’s daughter-in-law says “‘How so? [She] cannot escort [him]. They wouldn’t let [her] go to the end of the garden wall” (Bronte, 14). Women can lose their parent’s property for their nearest male relative unless their father specializes in his will and they are also at lower class in comparison to male – unconditionedly listening to men. But for the current inheriting law, things would change – Heathcliff could not use this plan for revenge and Linton would not state “[he’s] glad, for [he] [will] be master of the Grange after [Edgar].” (Bronte, 236).
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the base of marriage relationship differs from that nowadays. As in Henry’s statement: “[Dorian] seem to forget that [Henry] [is] married, and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. [Henry] never know where [his] wife is, and [his] wife never knows what [he] [is] doing. When [they] meet – [they] do meet occasionally, when [they] dine out together, or go down to the Duke's – [they] tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces. [His] wife is very good at it -- much better, in fact, than [Henry] [is]. She never gets confused over her dates, and [he] always does. But when she does find [him] out, she makes no row at all. [He] sometimes [wishes] [his wife] would; but she merely laughs at [Henry]” (Wilde, 7), the relationship is often not mutual attraction. Or in other statement, Henry says “Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.” (Wilde, 42). Though being overstated, men’s condescending view of women seems to be a theme due to the social setting, expressed as in Henry’s statement “no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals.” (Wilde, 42) or the unfair explanation toward the relationship between Sybil Vane – the actress and Dorian Gray – the name-part “It is only the sacred things that are worth touching, Dorian," said Lord Henry, with a strange touch of pathos in his voice. "But why should [Dorian] be annoyed? [Henry] suppose [Sibyl Vane] will belong to [Dorian] some day. When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.” (Wilde, 46) the relationship between a man and a woman is transformed to just physical passion. In the other hand, to be in the artistic movement, women working in the field of art are more appreciated in comparison to ordinary women as in The Picture of Dorian Gray “Ordinary women never appeal to one’s imagination. They are limited to their century. No glamour ever transfigures them. One knows their minds as easily as one knows their bonnets. One can always find them. There is no mystery in any of them. They ride in the Park in the morning, and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon. They have their stereotyped smile, and their fashionable manner. They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is!” (Wilde, 46). In addition, female seems to be the inspiration as well as the obstacle toward men following aesthetic lifestyle, “women, as some witty Frenchman once put it, inspire [them] with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent [them] from carrying [the masterpieces] out.” (Wilde, 69)
In conclusion , the setting of the two novels are developed in different ways. While the social setting in Wuthering Heights reflects the principles that women and the society have to follow, the setting in The Picture of Dorian Gray plays a more important role in explaining characters’ thought. Both of them are critical components for assisting the story in the two novels. Without the setting, the story cannot make condition to conflicts as well as expressing the subject of the literary writings in the general themes.
(Word count: 936) Work cited list
1. Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Height. A Penn State Electronic Classics Series Publication
2. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Editorial material © Joseph Bristow 2006. OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
3. Shmoop Editorial Team. (November 11, 2008).The Picture of Dorian Gray Setting. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.shmoop.com/picture-dorian-gray/setting.html
4. Study Guide for Wuthering Heights. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. from http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/wuthering_heights.pdf