ISOLATION AND ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS ON THE CHARACTERS IN WUTHERING HEIGHTS BY EMILY BRONTE =

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Wuthering Heights, the only novel written by Emily Bronte, is considered one of the masterpieces in English literature. The novel was published when the Romantic Age was taken over from Realism. It still reflected the British’s society during the Victorian era, albeit this novel was written in the Romantic style. Wuthering Heights touches upon many issues in the society during the 19th century. Today, there have been studies about Wuthering Heights in many aspects such as setting, characters, the love and revenge between Catherine and Healthcliff. In 1992, Peterson referred to Sigmund Feud’s claim in his work that understanding human psychology can help people appreciate works of literature more. Basing on Freud’s theory, it is possible to apply the knowledge in psychology to explain change in character’s psyche and behaviors. Therefore, the writer has decided to examine the novel in terms of characters from psychological perspective. In this study, the researcher aims at analyzing the reasons why the main characters are isolated and finding the influences of isolation on people’s life presented in the novel. After completing this study, it can be seen that, the characters in the novel experience isolation and loneliness imposed by other people as well as by themselves. In addition, the isolation has big influences on characters’ lives, personalities, and behaviors. It also causes them troubles in maintaining relationships with people. Therefore, their lives are despaired and miserable.