Defying Victorian Gender Norms: Estella and Catherine
Victorian Gender Norms and the Angel in the House
In Victorian times, women were expected to be gentle, obedient, and devoted to their families—the ideal of the “angel in the house.” Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights both feature female characters who break away from these expectations. Estella and Catherine Earnshaw challenge traditional female roles through their behavior and choices, but both are punished for these actions. This essay will show how Estella’s cold pride and Catherine’s wild passion both defy Victorian gender norms, and how they face harsh consequences that reveal the limits placed on women in their society.
Estella: The Weaponized Woman in Great Expectations
Estella challenges gender roles by refusing to be gentle, loving, or emotional. Instead, she is raised by Miss Havisham to hurt men as revenge for Miss Havisham’s own heartbreak. Miss Havisham openly tells her to “break their hearts and be proud of it.” Estella is beautiful and desirable, but she uses this to keep men at a distance. She warns Pip clearly, saying GE PS 4. She later admits, GE PS 2. These lines show that Estella rejects the traditional role of the affectionate, nurturing woman who offers comfort and love to men.
Critics state that Miss Havisham creates GE SS 1. Estella is not meant to be controlled or domesticated, but weaponized against men. However, this rebellion is not truly her own choice. She is raised for revenge, becoming what Miss Havisham wants her to be, without developing her own feelings (GE SS 2). Estella’s punishment for resisting gender roles is clear:
- She marries Bentley Drummle, a man known for his cruelty.
- Her marriage is not a romantic union but a confirmation of her status as an object to be traded.
- She is left isolated, losing any hope for her own happiness.
Dickens offers no emotional resolution for her; she survives, but her fate suggests that Victorian society refuses to reward women who step outside the role of the devoted, loving wife.
Catherine Earnshaw: Wild Passion and Social Prisons
Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights also challenges Victorian expectations, but in a different way. She is wild, passionate, and refuses to be tamed or submissive. Her love for Heathcliff is fierce and equal. She declares: WH PS 1, rejecting the idea that a wife should be separate, subordinate, or complementary to her husband. This defies the Victorian ideal of marriage as a polite, controlled partnership with clear gender roles.
However, Catherine still chooses to marry Edgar Linton for social status, moving from the wild freedom of the moors to the polite prison of Thrushcross Grange. It is said she becomes WH SS 3. Her rebellion doesn’t lead to freedom, but to self-destruction. Catherine’s punishment for resisting gender roles is even harsher than Estella’s. She becomes mentally unstable and physically ill. In her delirium, she says to Heathcliff: WH PS 2. This “shattered prison” is both her body and the social rules that trap her, as she says in WH PS 3.
The Harsh Consequences of Female Defiance
Critics see Catherine’s fate as a symbol of how marriage destroys her freedom, turning the domestic sphere into a kind of prison. Catherine’s only way to escape is through death. Her madness and self-starvation are the final protests of a woman who cannot fit into either the role of wild child or obedient wife. She refuses to grow up into a wife and mother, living in a time that doesn’t follow society’s expectations (WH SS 2). But since there is no place for that in Victorian society, her only choice is death.
In both novels, these heroines show that Victorian society severely limits women’s choices. Estella is forced into emotional numbness as punishment for refusing love, while Catherine dies young because she cannot be tamed. Estella’s cold resistance is shaped by Miss Havisham’s revenge, turning her into an unfeeling object. Catherine’s passionate rebellion leads to madness and death. Both fates show that society punishes women who refuse to be the “angel in the house,” offering them no real path to happiness or freedom.
Conclusion: A Critique of Victorian Society
In conclusion, through Estella and Catherine, Dickens and Brontë reveal that Victorian gender expectations are punishing. Their stories show that when women defy these roles, whether through cold pride or wild passion, they face consequences. These characters expose the harsh limits on female freedom in their time, making them powerful critiques of Victorian society.