VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
GRADUATION PAPER
ISOLATION AND ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS
ON THE CHARACTERS IN WUTHERING
HEIGHTS BY EMILY BRONTE
Supervisor: Đỗ Thu Hương M.A
Student: Kiều Thị Hà
Course: QH2010.F1.E1
HÀ NỘI - 2014

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH
KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
SỰ CÔ LẬP VÀ NHỮNG ẢNH HƯỞNG TÂM LÝ CỦA
NÓ TỚI CÁC NHÂN VẤT TRONG TIỂU THUYẾT ĐỒI
GIÓ HÚ CỦA EMILY BRONTE
Giáoviênhướngdẫn: Đỗ Thu Hương M.A
Sinhviên: Kiều Thị Hà
Khóa: QH2010.F1.E1
Ha noi May, 2014 Signatures of Approval:
_________________________________________________________________

albeit this novel was written in the Romantic style. Wuthering Heights touches upon many
issues in the society during the 19
th
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.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Statement of research question
Wuthering Heights is the only novel written by Emily Bronte and it is considered
one of the masterpieces in English literature. The novel was published when the Romantic
Age was taken over from Realism. Although this novel was written in the Romantic style, it
still reflected the British’s society during the Victorian era. Like other literary works of this
period, this masterpiece is also set in a new conventional context when a brand new flow of
moral values is stemmed from the Industrial Revolution (Shapiro, 1969). Considered a
social novel, Wuthering Heights touches upon the class structure and the treatise on
women’s role in society as well. Bronte also mentioned other matters in society at that time
such as the effects of racism on people’s relationships, social class and spouse selection.

study to address the following questions:
 What are the reasons for making characters isolated?
 What are the psychological effects of isolation on the characters?
3. Significance of the study
Once completed, this study would bring about some certain benefits for teachers
and students and for those interested in this novel to understand more about the
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characteristic features and the nature of the main characters. The research is conducted
from a new perspective. It would be a useful source for reference. Therefore, third year
students will probably have more materials to support them during the first semester of the
third year when they study “English Literature” in general, and the novel “Wuthering
Heights” in particular.
4. The scope of the study
It can be seen that “Wuthering Heights” mentioned families, the relation between
family members and society, the conventions in society and others. However, this study
will concentrate on the investigation into isolation factors and how these factors affect the
life and the personality traits of the main characters such as Catherine, Heathcliff and Edgar
in some aspects of life as love, behaviors, and their ways of thinking by understanding
human psychology to explain those matters.
5. Research methodology
To conduct this research, the researcher has had to collect and read the novel and
other research about this work of art to have a deeper understanding about it. Apart from
that, research in psychology about personality, isolation and its effect under the view of
psychology are also sources of materials for the study. The theories by psychologists such
as Sigmund Feud and Karen Horney are backbones for the researcher to analyze characters’
thoughts and behaviors. They provide significant background knowledge for the researcher
to conduct the research paper. The types of sources include such as books, journal articles
and previous studies related to the topic.
With adequate knowledge and information gained from extensive reading, the writer
has started to analyze and synthesize these sources of information before arriving at some

is considered a pre-conscious part of human psychology. It is driven by reality principles in
which it takes reality into consideration to make people behave in acceptable manners.
Because the Ego attempts to mediate between the id and reality, it somehow helps people
integrate into the society (Freud, 1933). In 1997, FettiJohn wrote in his book that “it [the
ego] makes decision, controls actions and allow thinking and problems solving of a high
order than the id is capable of” (p. 356). It indicates that the Ego is a part of the mind
controlling human instinct- the unconscious part to match with the community’s
acceptance.
The last part of structure of personality is the Superego which represents the
morality or ethnicity of the society given by caregivers such as parents, teachers and others.
This part of the mind operates by moral principles. The Superego consists of two parts,
conscience and the ego ideal. The conscience causes the feelings of guilt when a person
behaves in inappropriate manners and the ego ideal is the picture of a person that he wishes
himself to become (McLeod, 2008). Therefore, the superego is partly unconnected to the
real world. It can be seen that the superego is opposite to the Id. The Superego is to make
people’s behaviors more civilized and perfect while the Id is driven by the instinct.
However, it is only the difference in the surface of two terms; in fact, they share the
common of not considering the reality in society. The lack of reality in the superego pushes
a person to behave better but it can also be the reason for creating perfectionists who cannot
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make a compromise that life requires. Similarly, the unrestrained Id can make people
primarily seek for satisfying their pleasures without delay (FettiJohn, 1997). According to
Freud (1923), the balance of the Ego would keep the Id and the Superego in check. The
influential Id can affect interpersonal relationships but the dominance of the superego can
make people obsessive about moral restriction which can lead to straining relationship
among people in the community.
Understanding Freudian theory, the readers can have a link to the characters in
Emily’s novel. Healthcliff is a representative of id- driven personality and in contrast,
Edgar Linton is a typical person who is dominant by the Superego. Last but not least,
Catherine Earnshaw is an outstanding example of struggling Ego. (See Chapter 4 for detail

called neurotic needs and grouped into three main categories or “trends” as Horney called
them, which are moving to toward other people, against other people and away from other
people (Schultz & Schultz, 2004)
The first trend, moving toward others or compliant personality, contains the needs
of affection, love and a dominant partner. Those people need approval, affection as they
doubt about their opinions, criticisms and even about themselves. Therefore, they need a
partner such as friends, parents, or spouse who can give them protection and guidance. In
relationship with other people, this type of people can blame and agree with others as well.
They are never critical and demanding.
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The second trend is moving against others or aggressive personality. It is about the
needs of “power, exploitation, prestige, admiration, and achievement” (Schultz & Schultz,
2004, p. 159). This type of people tends to be hostile and cunning to survive. They are
tough and domineering, especially have no concern about others. They often force
themselves to word hard to become the best or even perfectionists. Aggressive personality
appears confident of their abilities. Simply understanding, they are driven by anxiety,
feeling of being unsafe and hostility.
The last trend is detached personality or moving away from other people. This trend
includes needs of self-sufficiency, perfection and narrow limits to life (Schultz & Schultz,
2004, p. 159). Those people move away from other people and often keep emotional
distance. They try to avoid all constraints, long-term commitments such as marriage or
mortgage. These struggles of emotion put great stress on this type of people in many
aspects.
Generally, there are three trends of neurosis needs and in each neurotic person; one
of these trends is dominant but the other two more or less present to a certain degree.
Horney’s theory helps readers understand characters psyche and the reasons why
they react in certain manners.
2. Isolation and its impacts from psychological perspective
2.1. What is isolation?
From psychological perspective, environment or living condition is one of the

with others in an aggressive manner as a way of self- protection and makes the Id part
dominant the others. Thus, being isolated can drive people to behave instinctively or
unconsciously. Isolation not only harms people’s mental health but also physical health. In
the same work, Cacioppo also pointed out that isolation can be the cause of cardiovascular
disease, malfunctioning the human brain. Additionally, Shankar, et al (2011) also showed
that health-risky behaviors such as drinking and smoking are also the consequence of
chronic loneliness. In 2006, Berkman and Melchior indicated that “social conditions [can]
create risky environments which in turn create vulnerable subgroups of the population who
may be both more susceptible to other specific exposures and/or be more heavily exposed
to a range of environmental risks”(p. 62). The people in isolation can fall into anxiety and
panic in new environment and the anxiety and panic can force them to find ways to
overcome agitation as in Horney’s theory of neurosis trends in order to seek for pleasure.
Isolation is the factor of living condition so it can affect a person’s level of
development. In impersonal communication, the isolated people can have difficulties in
communicating, adjusting, and mediating social relationships and even family ones.
According to Biordi and Nicholson, marriage is the short cut to reduce social isolation and
loneliness because there is a partner by their side. Unfortunately, the partner is not always
the person who will protect them from loneliness if he is not supportive enough (Tillburg,
1988). Therefore, only when partners are supportive network members can isolation in
marriage be alleviated. Another relationship is between children and parents. Hagestad
(1981) argued that communication and conversation among generations in a family can
maintain the sense of caring and belonging. That provides children with companionship,
closeness and makes children feel safer. Hence, it is not wise to keep children in isolation in
their own house. Besides, it is also vital to involve in a certain set of social network, as it
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can lower the risk of isolation. Friends, colleagues and other non-kin relationships will
connect people in a network outside the family.
In conclusion, the lack of kin and non-kin relationships can increase the chance of
being isolated.
3. Characters in Literature

behavior”, characters in literature work reveals “truth to experience” (Paris, p. 6). In
addition, literature enables us not only to observe people other than ourselves but also to
enter their mental life and to discover what these people tend to do to confront their life.
For those reasons, human psyche in literary works also obeys the law of human psychology.
For instance, according to Freud’s theory, Healthcliff is an id-driven person who wants
whatever feels good at the time with no consideration for the others’ situation. At
Wuthering Heights, the only person that Healthcliff cares about is Catherine and he falls in
love with the girl. Healthcliff does not care about the judgments from the society, the
conventions; he simply sees what he wants and the one he is fond of. From these examples,
it is possible to approach literature characters with the same concerns with approaching
people.
Throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, the characters experience both physical
and emotional isolation. Physical isolation implies the location of two houses and the status
of being kept isolated by other people. The Heights is located in the moorland surrounded
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by bogs and it is difficult to travel back and forth between Wuthering Heights and
Thrushcross Grange even to people who are familiar with the territory. That somehow
makes people living in two houses isolated from the outside society. In addition, physical
isolation also refers to social isolation when the characters lack social relationships. They
may do not have friends, close friends, and other relationships. During the childhood, the
relationship between Catherine and Healthcliff can be considered friendship; however,
Hindley, Edgar, Isabella, young Catherine, Heraton and Linton do not have any friends.
They are limited to family members. For instance, Edgar Linton keeps close eyes on his
little daughter, she is kept away from the society outside “Mr. Linton would take her with
him a mile or so outside, on rare occasions; but he trusted her to no one else. Gimmerton
was an unsubstantial name in her ears; the chapel, the only building she had approached or
entered, except her own home” (Bronte, p. 160).
On the other hand, emotional isolation refers to mental distance from other people
or chronic loneliness. Some of them are responsible for their isolation like Catherine,
Healthcliff, Edgar and Isabella. All of them choose to be isolated in their marriage.

with few friends outside her family. She pined for home and for the wild moorland where
she lived.
Her personality and her living environment influenced directly on what she had
written and Wuthering Heights was an example. All these elements make both her poetry
and the novel Wuthering Heights” more attractive
2. The novel “Wuthering Height”
2.1 Setting
In writing fiction, writers bring the world they know into their writing and the
stories can be imagined as happening at somewhere and sometime. According to DiYanni
(2000), setting in literature is “[the] place or location of a story’s action along with the time
in which it occurs is it setting” (p. 41). Wuthering Heights is not an exception. The readers
somehow can find the geography and the weather of the moorland in her novel.
Understanding the setting can help readers decode messages underneath. In addition,
setting also reveals characters and gives clues to help readers understand characters.
The environment of Yorkshire has a big influence on Emily. She practically makes
the characters out of its geography. It can be seen that in Wuthering Heights there are two
main locations, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, which are full of conflicts in
agreement with the plot. The two main sites of action are depicted as being opposite in
many aspects. For example, while Wuthering Heights on a hill high above is dark, cold, and
a bit wild, Thrushcross Grange gives the expression of brightness and warm welcome. The
two estates are only four miles apart; however traveling between the two is not convenient.
There is continuous back and forth movement on horse and foot. Gimmerton is the nearest
town and the only element that shows the connection of two houses with the world outside.
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It is the location for other characters like the doctor, the lawyer to come from and appear in
the novel. Liverpool is a further port city, the place that the gypsy child - Heathcliff is
found. The weather plays a big role and tends to reflect some of the desolate attitudes of the
characters. It not only shows the severe condition of the moorland but also a factor that
effectively supports the setting to convey its metaphoric message.
Wuthering Heights was written during the 19

stay at his landlord’s house, Wuthering Heights. He meets the ghost of Catherine and he is
curious about the story of the two estates. When coming back to Thrushcross Grange and
recovering from his illness, Lockwood tells Nelly Dean, a servant caring for the Grange,
about what he has experienced at Wuthering Height and begs her to tell him the story of his
landlord. Nelly recalls and tells him the main plot of Wuthering Heights.
Mr. Earnshaw is the first owner of Wuthering Heights. On one business trip to
Liverpool, he brings an orphan home. The boy is christened Heathcliff and lives with the
Earnshaw children, Hindley and Catherine. Catherine is so fond of Heathcliff but Hindley
hates him because he thinks that Heathcliff has replaced him in Mr. Earnshaw's eyes. Then,
Hindley is sent to an elite school. Three years later, Mr. Earnshaw dies so Hindley returns
and inherits all the property including Wuthering Heights. He plans to revenge on
Healthcliff and destroy him. However, Catherine and Heathcliff do not care about that, they
are still together, play on the moorland and do what they like. Until they encounter the
Lintons, everything changes. The Lintons has two children, Edgar and Isabella Linton.
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