Heathcliff’s Complex Character

A new independent bachelor thesis just published:

Heathcliff’s Complex Character: Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality and Reader-response Theory to Understand Heathcliff
Mohamed Ashmawi, Karlstad University 
2024 

Emily Brontë’s novel, Wuthering Heights, presents Heathcliff as a complicated character that makes it hard for readers to declare him a victim or a villain, hence leaving them with questions about his morality. This work looks deep into Heathcliff’s tough character by integrating the view of psychoanalysis with reader-response theory. Using Freud’s ideas helps ussee how the Id, ego, and super-ego and defense mechanisms work together to help understand Heathcliff’s personality. It also shows how basic instincts and psychological aspirations pushhim desperately for revenge. Moreover, the essay explores Rosenblatt’s idea of reader-response theory and shows how different readers’ feelings and starting points make them give different opinions on Heathcliff. The changing relationship teaches us how people behave differently and that moral views can be transparent and fair. Brontë’s significant gothic parts make it hard todefine Heathcliff’s character. Her use of unreliable narrators and the horrific atmosphere challenge reality and perception, hence making the reader confused and as disoriented asHeathcliff, who cannot really justify his actions. Ultimately, this essay presents the depths of Heathcliff, explaining his complex character beyond the surface of the surrounding Wuthering Heights. Further explaining that his tragedy is a result of his own past, the demons within him, and our own subjective reaction. Combining the two theories – psychoanalytic and reader-response – will help to reveal his mystery, providing a glimpse into the depths and shadows lurking in the human mind.