On The Defense Mechanisms Of Heathcliff In Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights has been recognized as a classic work in the world’s literary history. For a long time, people considered the author as a "Sphinx" in British literature because her work has age-old riddles. Many critics have studied it from different angles, using different methods and drawing different conclusions. Yet few have analyzed the mysterious and strong psyche of the male protagonist Heathcliff.To unveil the mysteries of this novel’s theme, the present author focuses on the psychological activities of Heathcliff and their effects on other characters as well as the novel’s ending. In this thesis, the theory of Defense Mechanism, an important part of Freudian psychoanalysis, is applied to analyze and decipher the protagonist’s inner world. This thesis is divided into five parts:the Introduction, the Body (which is made up of three chapters), and the Conclusion.The introduction firstly gives a brief summary of Emliy’s life, her creative writing style, and the critical history of Wuthering Heights. It then presents relevant criticisms made of the novel at home and abroad, as well as provides this thesis’ perspective and its theory.In the first chapter, the present author discusses the forming of Heathcliff’s Defense Mechanism in two parts:the first part focuses on the Victorian society and takes culture as the outer element, while the second part focuses on Heathcliff’s early life and takes his suffering experiences as the inner element. Then both elements are combined to form Heathcliff’s Defense Mechanism, which is marked mainly by revenge in case of insult. In the second chapter, the present author analyses how Heathcliff’s Defense Mechanism is performed:his denial, repression and revenge are all means by which his Defense Mechanism works when there is no other vent. In the third chapter, the present author goes on to interpret Heathcliff’s tragedy as a result of the death of his other self and the collapse of his Defense Mechanism marked by his insanity.In conclusion, the cause of Heathcliff’s tragedy is his deformed Defense Mechanism and its failure to protect his psyche when his enemies no longer exist. Furthermore, Heathcliff’s insanity and death can be seen as the externalization of Emily’s worries about the betrayal of love in her unconscious mind.