Readers of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Maryse Condé's Windward Heights can easily become overwhelmed by the deluge of voices that permeate each of the respective novels. After reviewing the complex filtering of narratives in Brontë's novel and the multitude of voices in Condé's text, the reader can see that the presence of a letter provides a refreshing opportunity to receive information without an intermediary. A letter provides a first-person narrative, eliminating the possibility of mistranslation or distortion of a character's experience. Yet letters raise equal complications, in that the writer of a letter is free to tell whatever he wants, and the events he describes are mediated by his personal subjectivity. This subjectivity is essential to understanding the letters of Isabella and Irmine, where the characters' partiality determines their accounts of their respective marriages to Heathcliff and Razy. Simple analysis suggests that Irmine suffers far greater indignity and horror than Isabella, who is much more superficial in her complaints. Closer study, however, shows that it is impossible to project a clear dichotomy between the two women and ultimately shows that Condé is working with the same themes used by Brontë to give a new understanding of this desperate character. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Despite preliminary evidence that superficial concerns primarily define Isabella's misery, a close reading reveals that her suffering is comparable to Irmine's. Isabella spends much of her letter describing in detail how degraded and degraded her new situation is compared to her previous life at Thrushcross Grange. She “sobs” (Brontë, 138) after learning that there is no servant to help her into bed and insists that she “could not taste the liquid treated so dirty” (Brontë , 140) after Hareton had drunk the milk from the pitcher. She orders the servant Joseph to provide her "immediately with a place of refuge and means of rest" (Brontë, 141), and when he scoffs at her request, she becomes so distraught that she stubbornly throws her tray of food aside. earth. These actions all resemble those of a spoiled child incapable of living a life without luxuries and seem particularly insignificant in comparison to the events described by Irmine. She recounts how she suffered “repeated rapes” (Condé, 78 years old) from Razy and how he “gave” her to Justin” (Condé, 79 years old) so that he would be at the mercy of her sexual whims. Following this comparison, the characterization of Isabelle's suffering as such appears almost offensive when compared to the horror that Irmine must endure. Yet a closer reading shows that Isabelle's emphasis on the superficial serves to focus her complaint on what is merely trivial rather than a horror so terrifying she cannot express it. She alludes to this coping mechanism when she writes: “It is for amusement that I dwell on such subjects as the lack of external comfort; they never occupy my thoughts, except when I miss them. I would laugh and dance for joy, if I found that their absence was the whole of my miseries, and that the rest was only an unnatural dream! (Brontë, 134-5). A great horror clearly lies beyond the "lack of external comfort" if the fact that they are the sum of her problems causes her to "laugh and dance for joy", because the rest would be just "unnatural phenomenon. dream." She claims that this deflection of her complaints only serves to "amuse" her, but the extent of her terror suggests that this statement is also a mask for her true feelings. Towards the end of her letter, she chooses not to name the "language" and "habitual conduct" that Heathcliff uses to ensure his "horror" (Brontë, 143), as she claims. Yet the sentence immediately preceding suggests fear rather than loathing: "I sometimes wonder about him with an intensity that lessens my fear - yet, I assure you, a tiger or a venomous snake could not arouse in me a terror equal to that which he awakens" (Brontë, 143) . Here she reclassifies her primary emotion toward Heathcliff as not just "fear," but a fear beyond that which a wild beast could inspire. Isabelle does not specify the source of her terror, but her allusions to it imply that an extremely formidable force inspires her. Irmine, on the other hand, clearly delineates the origin of his horror. Her frankness in characterizing her suffering might explain why she seems relatively sane in the face of her terrifying ordeal, while Isabella seems to hover on the brink of madness and is clearly enduring terrible agony; critical situation as being in “hell” or “on fire”. Yet she is able to accept blame for her actions, recognizing that she has “greatly offended” (Condé, 77) her family and that it is “rightly so” (Condé, 79). ) so that they ignore any communication from him. She can also admit her ambivalence towards Razy, a man who despises her and yet “despite everything, [she] never stopped loving” (Condé, 79 years old). Isabelle, on the other hand, who refuses to express her suffering, projecting it onto material losses, allows herself to be consumed by violent impulses. Seeing Earnshaw's knife, "a hideous notion" comes over her as she examines it not with "horror" but with "lust" (Brontë, 138). Although she characterizes Earnshaw's desire for revenge as "verging on madness" (Brontë, 139), she is unable to realize that her own revenge fantasy should, by extension, also be considered a form of madness . Isabella has no outlet to express the agony of what she is experiencing, which results in a state bordering on madness. Irmine, however, is able to express his circumstances and thoughts, and even recognize their contradictions. Following this argument, we would naturally conclude that Irmine occupies a better position than Isabelle since she is capable of expressing her suffering and avoiding that of madness. feels while repressing his pain. However, once again, it is impossible to create a clear dichotomy between one character having a better situation and the other having a worse one. Irmine may be more open in her letter, but her efforts yield no results. Lucinda reads it, does not “bother to mention this letter to Cathy” (Condé, 79), and gives no indication that she ever visited, helped, or even sympathized with Irmine. Isabella's letter, on the other hand, is kept for years by Nelly, who may not be able to help her in her current situation, but who can at least listen and empathize. One of the most fundamental attributes inherent in letters is that they are intended to be read by others and not to be kept as a personal rumination, like a diary. Barely received, Irmine's letter ultimately serves no purpose in communicating his dismay, while Isabelle's letter succeeds in gaining him an audience. These two women may suffer and express their suffering in divergent ways, but ultimately they both endure enormous pain that cannot easily be compared,.