Gothic Element, Plot Device or More? Comparison between the portrayal of Heathcliff and Bertha Mason (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Würzburg, language: English, abstract: In this research paper the author wants to take a closer look at the similarities and differences between Heathcliff and Bertha. While doing so she also wants to find out if their respective creators portrayed them just as a Gothic element, a stereotype, plot device or similar things or if their portrayal has a different kind of thought behind it. While reading Jane Eyre and letters Charlotte Bronte send regarding Wuthering Heights she noticed an almost extreme opinion Charlotte seems to have about people of colour. The interest for this topic comes from the fact that there is a lot of research about the Otherness of both characters but rarely are they compared with each other. Oftentimes Charlotte and her opinions about her sisters novel Wuthering Heights are quoted in research but rarely does anyone comment on her extreme view on Heathcliff. Her critique of Wuthering Heights is mostly only analysed in regard to her sister. So, with this paper the author also wants to take a closer look at the things Charlotte Bronte had to say about Heathcliff and about how she herself portrayed the Other in her novel, Jane Eyre.

She will also take a quick look at Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea in order to be able to differentiate the way Charlotte, who had lived her whole life in England, and Jean Rhys, who had been living on a Caribbean island, similar to Bertha, portray the same character. This could show whether or not Charlotte had, as the author presumes, a more racist view on the post-colonial regions and people than her sister Emily.