A consideration of how Emily Bronte, Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare consider the notion of illusion and reality in the context of a love story. Wuthering Heights follows the Romantic Movement, a movement within literature during the late 18th century with captured intense emotion and passion within writing as opposed to rationalisation. Emily Bronte’s main focal point within the novel is the extreme emotion of love and whether it leads to the characters contentment or ultimate calamity.
This confliction of love is portrayed mainly through Catherine Earnshaw, a contemptuous, spoiled beauty whose metaphysical love for the protagonist, Heathcliff, will be tested by her disillusion of Edgar Linton and the social and financial benefits he can administer. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams has many comparisons to Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Not only are the characters emotions and ambitions similar, but the fundamental themes such as thwarted desire and fantasy versus reality are coinciding.
Blanche has already started to degenerate at the beginning of the play; she belongs in her own idealistic world of fantasy where her cheap but flashy clothes sustain her fading physical complexion and her dainty, air of propriety gives her a convenient appearance although in actuality she is an aging alcoholic with a poor reputation due to her flirtatious, sexual desires. Catherine Earnshaw has virtually identical attributes with regards to her disposition.
They are both concealing their true personality behind a veneer of elegant clothes and snobbery, and each has an illusory romantic belief that causes their demolition. William Shakespeare has many additions to the literary theme of love through the publishing of his famous sonnets in the 1600’s. The first 126 sonnets are established as being addressed to a young man and the second half of the sonnets addressed to “the dark lady”. Many of the sonnets fundamental themes such as reality and illusion can be portrayed within both other literacy texts.
Following the Romantic Movement within literature, Emily Bronte focuses the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine on the correspondence of metaphysical love, this being infinite, eternal and on a higher plane than the physical world. Similar to other gothic writers, the surrounding environment of Wuthering Heights is used for metaphorical purposes to reflect the emotions of the characters. David Cecil composed a theory that the novel is a universe of the calm versus the storm.
Wuthering Heights embodies the land of the storm being located in a windy, savage area – “a perfect misanthropist’s heaven” – and this is reflected within the cruel, heartless occupants. In comparison Thrushcross grange is settled in a valley with civilised residents who have connotations of the “calm”. While the adjective “Wuthering” means stormy nature, “thrush” can be associated with a bird that is famous for tunefulness song and can be related to Christian piety, illustrating the Linton’s have qualities of dutifulness and devotion.
Likewise Tennessee Williams identifies features of the surrounding environment to contemplate the Characters traits. In New Orleans there was a streetcar that carried the word “Desire” as its destination and another “Cemeteries”. This has relevance to Blanche whose desires in life actually cause her eventual disengagement from reality; in comparison this is a very prominent feature within Catherine Earnshaw’s life as the illusion of the betterments Edgar can provide cause’s repression of her feelings leading to a repellent mental state.
Wuthering Heights presents a collision between civilisation which contains a more affirmative, restricted and realistic view of life, against an uncontrollable, spiritual energy within nature, reflected not only within the opposing environments but also with the characters. For example Cathy’s naive expectations of Edgar providing a conventional lifestyle with social advancements subjects her to disregard the spiritual connection with Heathcliff.
Whilst Heathcliff detests their spoilt lifestyle and claims he would not “for a thousand lives” exchange positions, Catherine sees it as a fortunate privilege and soon transcends into an indulged woman with pristine “white trousers” and a polite manner. As Cathy behaves mannerly and immaculate to conceal her true spiritual energy, Blanche behaves exactly the same with her frail image and glamour disguising not only her loss of wealth from the ancestral building the Belle Reve, but also to maintain a youthful image that men would have sexual attraction and admiration for.
Blanches constant self-absorption is apparent through her selfishness of “soaking in the hot-tub” and “her little weakness” of perpetual need to be “looking wonderful”. Catherine similarly becomes self-absorbed with the idea of becoming “the greatest woman in the neighbourhood” so like Blanche she harbours herself from a young girl into a woman with pristine physical appearance to capture social benefits. Upon this transition within Catherine she advocates her superiority over Heathcliff by stating he is a “bleak, hilly, coal country” harshly ontrasting him against her new companion, Edgar, who appears a “beautiful, fertile valley”. In relation to David Cecil’s theory the environment Cathy associates her best friends with mirrors the true nature of the storm and the calm. Furthermore these quotations give reference to the importance of social class during Emily Bronte’s time; whilst wealthy individuals would have a more desirable image, the working class would be degraded.
It is not until the end of both pieces of literature it becomes apparent that Catherine and Blanches illusions of social class and happiness actualized a mental detachment from reality as opposed to success. Catherine’s deterioration from reality is due to being faced with the ultimatum of what she finds preferential in life; either the true, mutual love she has for Heathcliff – “he’s more myself than I am” – or the feelings of illusion she has for Edgar with his wealth and social circumstances – “you love Mr Edgar, because he is handsome, and young, and cheerful, and rich and loves you”.
She confides in Nelly the absurd assumption that she can marry Linton and additionally preserve her relationship with Heathcliff by “aiding him to rise”. Here we can differentiate between the two very different feelings Catherine has for both Edgar and Heathcliff. She describes Edgar’s soul and her own to be “as different as moonbeam from lightening or frost from fire”. This has connotations of a heterosexual love often used in literature, being an attraction between two people who are both complete opposites.
Furthermore “frost” represents the calm nature of Edgar and “fire” captures the untamed elements embodied within Catherine and Heathcliff who coincide with stormy nature. Fire is a frequently used motif within the novel as it captures intense feelings and the idea of reconstruction and destruction, a reoccurring theme. In relation to the heterosexual love, Emily Bronte opposes this conformed view with relations between Cathy and Heathcliff.
Regarding their souls she states “his and mine are the same” however their love will never become more than platonic throughout the novel as it would “degrade” Cathy to marry Heathcliff. Although their relationship lacks sexual attention it is far more dominant than Catherine’s lustful relationship with Edgar which reconciles to the stereotypical views of society, and has caused Catherine’s illusion of a customary marriage and accomplished life. Shakespeare recognises the flaws of a lustful relationship based on physical attraction, such as Edgar and Cathy’s, within onnet 129. At the beginning of the poem the speaker uses a series of brutish adjectives “murd’rous, rude, cruel, perjured, savage” to enhance how the culmination of a lustful act can lead men to “despise” the performance straight away. Perceiving this poem from a subjective point of view, Shakespeare’s sudden abasement of sexual encounter may stem from an affair with the dark lady, although the absence of her in the poem may represent how you can have lustful desires with anyone.
This can be exemplified with the marriage between Catherine and Edgar as their love is extremely accustomed to society and therefore they could have had this attraction for many different people. The spiritual feelings between Catherine and Heathcliff on the other hand are predominant, although sexual desires are vacant within their relationship, their love is more profound and realistic as opposed to the illusion of such a unique love Catherine has for Edgar.
Shakespeare contrasts the increasing lust against the regret after the final act using religious imagery in line 14 where the “heaven” is the “bliss of proof” within line 11 and the “hell” represents the “very woe”. This poem overall can be perceived as a contradiction between platonic love void of sexual desires (such as Catherine and Heathcliff’s) against a carnal, impure love (such as Edgars and Cathy’s). As Wuthering Heights will always remain in an “atmospheric tumult” Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s love for each other will always remain spiritual and untouched by any contingencies.
This genuine love opposes the conventional, civilised life during this era, whereas her illusion of the married life she can have with Edgar would actually embrace the stereotypical views of society. William Shakespeare looks at this illusion people have of others and the stereotypical views of society in Sonnet 130. Within this sonnet Shakespeare plays an elaborate joke on the conventional petrarchan sonnets which would contain the stereotypical views that a woman should be idealized, just as Edgar idealizes Catherine.
He conveys that his “mistresses eyes are nothing like the sun” and “music hath a far more pleasing sound” than his lovers voice. Shakespeare is cleverly disregarding the use of unrealistic, petrarchan metaphors such as “my lovers cheeks are made of roses” to demonstrate those women do not need a false exterior of glamorous clothes and make-up for a man’s love to still be heart-felt. Within A Street-Car named Desire Blanche continually relies on a materialistic physical appearance to gain acceptance from men, however none of this is a loving acknowledgment like Shakespeare speaks of, alternatively it’s purely a sexual desire.
Edgars conventional love for Catherine is an attraction on a physical level and this beauty illusions his perceptions of her, unlike Heathcliff whose love is as “eternal as the rocks” and similar to Shakespeare’s affection that is rare as “any she belied with false compare”. As Cathy’s deterioration is caused by her conflicting decisions between Heathcliff and Edgar, comparatively Blanche deteriorates due to an opposing confliction between reality and fantasy – “I don’t want realism. I want magic”. This reflects her dismissal of a pragmatic lifestyle.
She has had a very unstable life with many deaths, especially her first love, and this caused her retreat into a life of promiscuity and alcoholism. Blanches drinking is very anti-social and secretive; therefore she deludes herself about her alcohol problem when it is actually one of the causes of her detrimental behaviour. This same approach can be taken with Catherine as the dismissal of her infinite love towards Heathcliff (like Blanches dismissal of alcohol dependence) is the predominant cause of her retraction from reality.
As she conceals her intrinsic feelings for Heathcliff through a life of marriage with Edgar, Blanche tells consistent lies to maintain this unrealistic perception she has of life. She tells her sister in scene 1 that she was taking a “leave of absence” from being a school teacher to cover up her terrible affair she had with a student. Blanche expresses this relentless promiscuity when asking Mitch to sleep with her in French – “Voulez-vous couches avec moi ce soir? – However the use of a sensual language conveys attempt to sophisticate the idea of sex in avoidance of the realism that it’s immoral and degenerate. The distinction between the characters language differentiates the contrasting social classes within the play, whilst Stanley’s speech is often non-grammatical – “She didn’t say nothing. ” – giving an impression of lack of intellect, Blanches speech is pedantic, fast flowing and emphasises a past of education and higher social positions.
The transition from the old to the new South America put restrictions on woman’s lives therefore they felt dependant on men. Blanche is promiscuous with men as she has a dependency towards them to feel the illusion of remaining youthful. In reflection, William Shakespeare also writes about a promiscuous woman and her deceit within Sonnet 137. This poem is addressed to the dark lady and raises the issue of lover who is lying to him with a false exterior of glamour and beauty as realistically she is “promiscuous” and not the ideal woman within a Patriarchal sonnet who is essentially “untouched”.
There is a pun on line 3 of the poem with the use of the word “lies” as this represents not only her false exterior lying, but also that she lies about her promiscuity. This lying about sexual relations can be seen with Blanche who deceives herself and Mitch into believing she is sexually innocent when she is actually promiscuous. Shakespeare talks about the illusion of beauty as this materialistic exterior can make woman seem more beautiful when essentially their true personality is false and like a “plague”. The use of the word “plague” in truth resembles a sexually transmitted disease.
Shakespeare commonly uses unpleasant sexual imagery within this poem such as “anchored in the bay where all men ride” (implying all men have sexual intercourse with this woman) to express his deep regret of involvement with this woman. The illusion of beauty and reality that causes the regret Shakespeare talks about within this poem is subjected to Edgar Linton and Cathy, as after placing the fanciful Cathy up on a pedestal Edgar realises the fallacious side of her personality (she pinches Nelly revealing savage characteristics).
Although he is attracted to her physical appearance he can be subjected to the petrarchan sonnets that Shakespeare opposes. Tennessee Williams differentiates Blanche’s madness with the use of shadows on the walls and the on-going polka music from the blue piano which is a fabricated illusion within Blanches own head. He further explores this disillusion using the motif of light. Blanche states “I can’t stand a naked light bulb” and when conversing with Mitch she places a Chinese lamp upon the light-bulb claiming its “rude” and “vulgar”.
Light can be related to honesty and purity, both neither traits that Blanche has obtained at this stage of her life; therefore she suppresses herself from light as to not expose a clear view of truth and reality. This reality of Blanches lifestyle is obtained through Stanley, a very physical man who’s grounded to realism; the complete opposition of Blanche’s imaginative character. Shirley Galloway believes Blanche and Stanley are “individual characters as well as symbols for opposing classes”.
It is these very unique differences that cause Stanley’s precariousness when they are first introduced and to further manipulate Blanche about her lies and past affairs until she is eventually exposed. His revelations of her past and Mitch subjecting her as “not clean enough” along with the violation of Stanley raping Blanche cause her decent into unbearable fantasy. Stella additionally illustrates a fanciful belief when buying into Stanley’s illusion of belief he did not rape Blanche – “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley”.
In comparison Catherine’s final declension is due to realisation her feelings for Heathcliff will not allow her to continue a fictitious lifestyle at thrushcross grange, where as Blanches retreat into fantasy is a defence mechanism to protect her from the disappointment and misfortune life has brought her. Upon Heathcliff’s return he is focused on revenging all characters in the novel due to his heartbreak and deceit from Catherine along with his ill-treatment from Hindley. He focuses on the weakest, innocent and purest character being young Isabella, and manipulates her into belief that she loves him.
Bronte’s predominant connotations of Heathcliff being a villain – “I assure you, a tiger, or a venomous serpent could not rouse terror in me equal to that which he awakens” – create a sense of empathy towards young Catherine Earnshaw and display the theme of vengeance that lasts throughout the second half of the novel. Isabella’s love is homogenous to that of Catherine’s for Edgar; it is based upon illusions, desires and is short-lasting; therefore her life deteriorates into misery.
The relationship between them reflects the romances within gothic and romantic literature with the involvement of Heathcliff being considered a Byronic Hero. He has all the connotations such as a “true misanthropist” who is passionate, endangering but ultimately idealistic in the eyes of young, naive Isabella. In comparison to Catherine’s feelings for Edgar and Blanches for her classy lifestyle, Isabella’s affection for Heathcliff is purely illusionary and the reality is “he’s not a rough diamond” and Heathcliff’s heartless revenge crushes Isabella “like a sparrows egg. This comparison of Byronic Hero can be seen within Tennessee Williams literature in relation to the character Stanley. He has very manly qualities such as gambling, drinking, swearing and his animalistic features create an air of being endangering, yet Stella seems to still have some unbeatable attraction towards him when she states “there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark – that sort of make everything else seem – unimportant”.
She disregards his cruel beatings and accepts his values that debase woman, even to the point where she substitutes her sister’s declarations of rape as insanity to crumble under the illusion that Stanley would not be that harmful. This entitles the idea that love can be like an allurement that leads you into a “trap”; a reoccurring theme in a few of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Within sonnet 133 there are elements of prison imagery – “bail, steel bosom’s ward, guard, torment” – to enhance the distress Shakespeare feels over his lover’s cruel, heartless actions and his longing to be trapped inside her so she can inevitably have all of him. Within sonnet 131 he subjects his woman as a “tyrant” enhancing the issue that she exercises the power of beauty in an unreasonable and arbitrary way over Shakespeare; therefore he has become incompetent within his own reasoning due to his “doting heart” being trapped by this woman’s physical attractiveness.
This portrays that the Byronic Hero is typically an illusion associated with an attractive, wild and interesting romance but in reality will only cause affliction. • Definition of Christian piety; http://bogners. typepad. com/church/2006/03/christian_piety. html • Analysis http://www. sparknotes. com/ • Analysis http://www. shmoop. com/wuthering-heights/ • Book; a street car named desire York notes advanced
