ABSTRACT
In Part II I put aside the tensions between relational and atomistic liberalism in contract, in order to examine the terms of coexistence of liberal ideals – contract among them – and status hierarchies. This is part of a broader question of complexity in liberalism that cultural histories have in recent years increasingly engaged, that is, the existence of apparently contradictory yet intertwined conceptual commitments in liberalism. To examine complexity I rely on two liminal sites: the promise of marriage, and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. The Foreword to Part II therefore includes a brief discussion of liminality in cultural analysis.
