Table of contentsIntroductionPsychological analysis of Wuthering Heights: identity, ego and super egoHeathcliff - IdEdgar Linton - Super egoCatherine Earnshaw - EgoConclusionIntroductionLiterature and psychological theories, even if they were developed in different periods or one before the other may be parallel due to the ability of both an author and a psychologist to understand the human condition. For this reason, it is possible to take psychoanalytic approaches to texts that may have been written long before the introduction of more popular psychological theories. Some of the characters in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights reflect Sigmund Freud's theory of personality. Wuthering Heights is the story of two diametrically opposed homes, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, beginning when a young boy named Heathcliff is adopted and arrives in Wuthering Heights. The novel describes the moving story of Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar and others as they grow from infancy to adulthood, and for many to their final demise. Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, developed the psychic theory of the id, superego, and ego in the early 1920s. Simply put, the id controls fundamental and primarily subconscious impulses, the superego controls adherence to social values ​​and morality as part of consciousness, and the ego balances the two by understanding the demands of reality. Three characters from Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights represent Sigmund Freud's theories of personality, as Heathcliff reflects the id, Edgar represents the superego, and Catherine attempts to act like the ego. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayPsychological Analysis of Wuthering Heights: Id, Ego and Super EgoHeathcliff - IdHeathcliff from Wuthering Heights represents the id of the personality theory of Sigmund Freud. Freud characterized the id as primitive and instinctive, existing in the subconscious part of the mind. The id drives one to seek the immediate gratification of an impulse and is unaffected by logic or morality. Heathcliff as a character is very aggressive, impulsive and neglects to consider any type of ethics. After Heathcliff escapes, he returns years later with one goal: to take revenge on his half-brother, Hindley, and to be with Catherine. He tells Catherine about his return, saying: “…I negotiated this plan; — just to get a glimpse of your face: a look of surprise, perhaps, and pretended pleasure; then settle my accounts with Hindley; then prevent the law by having myself executed.” Heathcliff has left Wuthering Heights and has no real reason to return after three years away. He is driven by his identity, so he wants to satisfy his urges by seeking revenge and being with Catherine. Heathcliff disregards his superego, because he does not care that Catherine is married and that trying to be with her would be socially unacceptable. He does not consider these attempts to be unrealistic because they do not take his ego into account. In another scene, Isabella, Heathcliff's wife, says that Heathcliff told her that she would suffer so long that his true love, Catherine, would be ill. Isabella writes: “He [Heathcliff] told me of Catherine's illness, and accused my brother [Edgar] of being the cause; promising that I would be Edgar's proxy in suffering, until he could reach him.” Isabella's innocence in Catherine's illness is of no importance to Heathcliff; his instinctaggressiveness and his lack of interest in rational thought push him to abuse whoever he pleases. Whether announcing his thirst for revenge, saying he would perform vivisection for fun, abusing innocent people, or killing small animals, Heathcliff's identity-driven personality , is his most distinctive characteristic.Edgar Linton - Super egoEdgar Linton from Wuthering Heights reflects the superego of Sigmond's three-component personality model. The superego emphasizes the importance of moral values, internalization of cultural rules, and adherence to socially appropriate customs. But most importantly, Edgar is in direct conflict with the novel's identity, Heathcliff. Although Catherine is married to Edgar, she maintains a certain level of intimacy with Heathcliff. Edgar asks him to choose one or the other, saying: "'Will you abandon Heathcliff afterward, or will you abandon me?' » It is impossible that you are both my friend and his; and I absolutely need to know which one you choose. » (111). Edgar, reflecting the superego, is obsessed with maintaining compliance with social norms and cultural rules. As a result, Edgar is very dissatisfied that Catherine has not shown full allegiance to him, so he simply demands that Catherine choose between him and Heathcliff. In this situation, Edgar, the superego, is literally in conflict with Heathcliff, the id, just as Sigmund Freud describes him. In another attempt to maintain social order and adhere to cultural norms, Edgar completely cuts off his relationship with his sister Isabella after her marriage to Heathcliff. He refuses to see her, specifying: “However, there is no question of me going to see her: we are eternally divided; and if she really wishes to oblige me, let her persuade the villain she married to leave the country... My communication with Heathcliff's family will be as economical as his with mine. It won't exist!'”. Edgar does not approve of Isabella quickly marrying someone of a lower social status and someone who lives in a setting diametrically opposed to theirs. He views his marriage to Heathcliff as socially unacceptable, so he cuts ties with Isabella completely. Edgar is the opposite of the id and seems to have no trace of an id mentality; rather, it reflects the superego by maintaining a strict and almost unrealistic adherence to social norms.Catherine Earnshaw - EgoCatherine Earnshaw Linton is the ego of Freud's personality theory in Wuthering Heights, as she balances the id and the superego. The purpose of the ego is to act as the balance between the superego and the id taking into account the demands of the id, the superego and reality; Simply put, it's common sense and good judgment. It operates on the reality principle, delaying the satisfaction of immediate needs to function effectively in society. Catherine tries to act like the ego, but she fails because she cannot balance Heathcliff (id) and Edgar (super ego). When Edgar asks Catherine to marry, she still feels a strong love for Heathcliff, but must balance the opposing forces. She says: “…did it ever occur to you that if Heathcliff and I got married we would have to be beggars?” Whereas if I marry Linton, I can help Heathcliff up and put him out of my brother's power.'" This statement shows how Catherine believes she can balance Heathcliff and Edgar (opposing forces literally and psychoanalytically) by marrying Edgar and then helping Heathcliff She is aware that marrying Edgar is more realistic, despite the demands of the id. Moreover, she knows that she loves Heathcliff (the id attracts her), but also understands that it is more socially acceptable to. to marry Edgar (the