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.

A History of Reading

Manguel's story reveals the enormity of reading. Many of his assertions I have never considered before, and yet I recognize their truth. I had never realized how much I read, until Manguel pointed out how many daily actions, in which the is no actual text, could be considered reading.
When it comes to Manguel's personal accounts of reading I am torn. I too enjoy reading, but Manguel seems to worship it on a whole new level. His claims that when he meets a new person, he is reminded of characters he has read, and that life takes on a deja-vu quality. To me, reading can expose truths about people I already know, but more often I find myself relating characters to people and not people to characters. I use reading as a tool to understand life, but I wonder if Manguel could even separate the two.

About Kate

     This is my first semester at Kennesaw. Previously, I attended West Georgia as a geology major. Since then, I have decided rocks are not my true calling after all. I am excited about my first semester here and my first as an English major. Besides reading and writing, I also enjoy art, music, and hanging out with my friends. I love English classes because they are about so much more than language; they are about life. The most interesting discussions tend to happen in them, and I expect we will certainly see some on these blogs!