Wuthering Heights American Imperialism

Meyer’s central argument is that Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights is a critique of British Imperialism during the 19th century in which social, economic and racial prejudice against women and the ‘dark races’ was prevalent. Meyer supports this central argument by asserting that both Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw are connected due to their respective exclusion and marginalisation from the British social order - however, as Meyer outlines, they then each navigate the experiences, views and attitudes imposed on them in different ways. As Catherine becomes assimilated into the social order and subjects to British Imperialism, Heathcliff remains steadfast in his refusal to conform to the subjugation and colonisation and proceeds to engage

Meyer asserts this to be due to Heathcliff’s appearance as a ‘dark race’ which enables those around him, such as the white and well-off Lintons, to view him through a “reductive and predictive reading of physiognomy” (p.100). This serves to lower Heathcliff to the status of an inferior class and, as Meyer claims, exaggerates and satirizes the views and attitudes of the British social class of the 19th century. However, the savage ‘dark race’ is given power in the social order once Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights and “enacts his reversals of power in relation to British society” (p.123). As Meyer states, Heathcliff proceeds to utilise this power to subject those who had previously exerted their social, racial and economic domination over him to the same treatment he himself suffered through. Heathcliff’s actions, according to Meyer, “hideously mimic the ugly brutality of British imperialism” (p.116) which allows for a reversal of Imperialism to occur wherein Heathcliff, the ‘dark race’ now has power over those of higher social