Firstly; Catherine’s conversation with Ellen Dean (Nelly) shows a perfect example of how social attitudes would affect the women of the time. In Chapter 9 Catherine (then) Earnshaw forces Nelly into a conversation about her recent decision to marry Edgar Linton rather than Heathcliff. She openly states that she doesn’t truly love Edgar, comparing her affection of him to “foliage in the woods. Time will change it”. this begs the question of why is she marrying him; social responsibility. Catherine is marrying Edgar because society dictates that between him and Heathcliff she must choose Edgar, because his social standing is much higher than Heathcliff’s. Catherine’s reason for marrying Edgar over Heathcliff despite stating that her love for him “resembles the eternal rocks beneath”, is that it would “degrade [her] to marry Heathcliff”, Brontë is using this instance to draw attention to the affects social responsibilities had on women and to question them and to encourage the defiance of women to social norms.

On the contrary; Brontë may be using this example to bring attention to the social ambition that society encouraged in women. Catherine marries Edgar because he can provide her with the opportunity to raise her social status, something marrying Heathcliff would make impossible. Brontë may be commenting on social attitudes towards women in regards to the products of said attitudes; Catherine uses Edgar for her own selfish purposes by marrying him, using Heathcliff’s low place in society as an excuse. It could be argued that her ambition to raise her social position is a sign of independence, which according to the Critical Anthology gains a strongly negative connotation. Brontë may be using this scene to condemn the defiance of women against social norms, Catherine’s