Extremes Versus the Norms in Wuthering Heights - 1155 Words

Extremes of behaviours traditionally are characterised as going against the normalities of society. However, in Wuthering Heights these extremes are the ways in which normality is restored, and this paradoxical view allows the ambiguity surrounding the novel to truly become prevalent. These extremes also reflect gothic elements in the novel such as the sublime and moral decay. This is because through the absence of morality extreme emotions such as jealousy, violence, or revenge are allowed to stir. This is particularly the case because extremities allow for social transgression, which the gothic represents. This illustrates how the structure of society can be changed to allow for a modern view that freedom should not be diluted by social†¦show more content†¦In some ways the three settings in which the novel is set show the disruption of normal behaviour in the world of Wuthering Heights. This is illustrated through Heathcliff’s home which is ‘descriptive of th e atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed to in stormy weather’, emphasising in some ways pathetic fallacy, because it suggests that Heathcliff is mentally disturbed like the stormy weather of his home. This would advocate the idea that domestication which is usually associated with a more civilised behaviour, and due to the fact that this is degraded, it means that extreme behaviour is the only normal one now. To some extent a psychoanalytical reading of Heathcliff’s emotional disarray would suggest it is based on the Freudian concept of life and death instincts. It is an important concept because life instincts are those that deal with basic survival, pleasure, and reproduction. While death instincts are based around a person’s self-conscious ability to want to die. Therefore, self-destructive behaviour is an expression of the energy created by the death instincts. When this energy is directed outward onto others, it is expressed as aggression and violence. Furthermore, it could