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Reading Wuthering Heights Through Psychoanalysis Theory - (Essay Example), 1511 Words GradesFixer
Reading Wuthering Heights Through Psychoanalysis Theory - (Essay Example), 1511 Words GradesFixer
Reading Wuthering Heights Through Psychoanalysis Theory - (Essay Example), 1511 Words GradesFixer
Personality Theory
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Introduction
Literature and psychological theories, even if developed in different time periods or one before the other, may
parallel because of both an author and psychologist’s ability to understand the human condition. For this reason, it
is possible to take psychoanalytic approaches to texts that may have been written long before more popular
psychological theories were introduced. Some of the characters of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights,
reflect the personality theory of Sigmund Freud. Wuthering Heights is the story of two diametrically opposed
households, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, starting from the time that a young boy named Heathcliff
is adopted and arrives at Wuthering Heights. The novel describes the emotional story of Heathcliff, Catherine,
Edgar, and others as they grow from young children, through adulthood, and many to their final demise. Sigmund
Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, developed the psyche theory of the id, super ego, and ego in the
early 1920s. Simply stated, the id controls basic and mostly subconscious impulses, the super ego controls
adherence to social values and morals as part of the conscious, and the ego balances the two by understanding
the demands of reality. Three characters of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë represent Sigmund Freud’s
personality theories because Heathcliff reflects the id, Edgar represents the super ego, and Catherine attempts to
act as the ego.
Heathcliff – Id
Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights represents the id of Sigmund Freud’s personality theory. Freud characterized the
id as primitive and instinctual, existing in the subconscious part of the mind. The id drives someone to seek
immediate gratification of an impulse and is unaffected by logic or morals. Heathcliff as a character is highly
aggressive, impulsive, and neglects to account for any type of ethics. After Heathcliff runs away, he returns years
later with a single goal: to seek revenge on his stepbrother, Hindley, and to be with Catherine. He tells Catherine
about his return by saying, “… I mediated this plan;—just to have one glimpse of your face: a stare of surprise,
perhaps, and pretended pleasure; afterwards, settle my score with Hindley; and then prevent the law by doing
execution on myself”. Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights and has no real reason to return after being gone for three
years. He is id driven, so he only wants to satisfy his impulses by seeking revenge and being with Catherine.
Heathcliff doesn’t account for his super ego, for he doesn’t care that Catherine is married and that trying to be with
her would be socially unacceptable. He doesn’t consider that these attempts are unrealistic by not accounting for
his ego. In another scene, Isabella, Heathcliff’s wife, says that Heathcliff has told her that she will suffer so long that
his true love, Catherine, is ill. Isabella writes, “He [Heathcliff] told me of Catherine’s illness, and accused my brother
[Edgar] of causing it; promising that I should be Edgar’s proxy in suffering, till he could get hold of him”. Isabella’s
innocence in Catherine’s illness is irrelevant to Heathcliff; his aggression instinct and lack of interest in rational
thinking drives him to abuse anyone he pleases. Whether it is announcing his thirst for revenge, saying he would
perform a vivisection for amusement, abusing innocent people, or killing small animals, Heathcliff’s id driven
personality is his most distinguishing characteristic.
Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, developed a three-component personality theory of the id,
ego, and super ego. This psychological theory, despite being developed decades after the novel was published, is
applicable to Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Three of the central characters, Heathcliff, Edgar, and Catherine,
represent the id, ego, and super ego of Freud’s theory. The id controls instinct and impulse and is unaffected by
reality, logic or morals, and Heathcliff’s actions are dominated by impulse and are unaffected by ethics. The super
ego controls the internalization of cultural standards and adherence to a moral code, and Edgar is obsessed with
acting in a socially appropriate manner and ensuring moral decisions are made. Finally, the ego is responsible for
maintain balance with the other components by considering reality, and Catherine attempts to do this in the novel,
but fails and ultimately dies as a result. Heathcliff, Edgar, and Catherine of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
represent Sigmund Freud’s personality theory of the id, super ego, and ego. As a psychologist, Sigmund Freud
analyzed human behavior and created theories accordingly. Emily Brontë was not a psychologist and wrote
Wuthering Heights decades before Freud’s theories were published, yet her ability to capture the human condition
as a writer lead to her novel mirroring the ideas of one of the most famous psychoanalysts in history