I found Lady Caroline Norton's letter very helpful in putting Wuthering Heights into context. The complete lack of legal rights of women is hard to imagine, despite the fact that many of our rights are so recently obtained. She is not arguing, however, even for so basic a right as the vote, but for women to simply be treated as humans who may own property and have some small say in their day to day lives.
     It seems to me that women were in no better a position than slaves, and were in fact slaves, to their husbands. This is how, in Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff  is able to maintain such absolute control and manipulate the property. Had the women in this novel had any basic rights, perhaps they would have been able to thwart him. This historical context helps me see why the females in this novel seem to hold such little power and are rather portrayed as being battered about in a storm of men's intentions.

A History of Reading II

As this book has progressed, I have begun to find it quite thought provoking. I can hardly believe I once thought the topic a bit narrow. This book has made me realize how much I took reading for granted. For example, I never fully understood how threatening some people find reading, how subversive. To me, this illustrates the overwhelming power of reading and writing. I also enjoy feeling connected to the various readers that Manguel indroduces.