Psychological Development in Wuthering Heights

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Psychological Development in Wuthering Heights

Growing up, children encounter many things that shape their psychological development. Parents constitute the most prominent of these influences. But whether the development results from direct parental stimuli or indirect heredity is dubious, however some correlation definitely exists. While some children respond to their parents by mimicking them, others respond by retaliating and acting opposite as they were raised. In the latter case, the retaliation can sometimes result from a lack of attention, or separated parents, where one raises the child to loathe the other. Although the first generation of Wuthering Heights did not play an integral role in the physical upbringing of their children, the second generation still develops their personalities in response to their parents' limited influence. This responsive development manifests within the characters of Linton, Hareton, and Cathy.

Admittedly, Catherine, Heathcliff, and Hindley, aren't the soccer moms of today. Heathcliff does not even meet his son Linton until grown, only then because his mother Isabella dies. Because of paternal rights, Heathcliff gains custody of Linton. When Linton prepares to meet his father for the first time, he questions Nelly: "'And what is my father like? Is he as young and handsome as uncle?' 'He's as young,' she replies, 'but he has black hair and eyes, and looks sterner, and he is taller and bigger altogether.'…'Black hair and eyes!' mused Linton. 'I can't fancy him. Then I am not much like him, am I?'"(Bronte 152). Upon meeting his son, Heathcliff observes him as weak, sickly, and high strung, which strongly contrasts with ursine Heathcliff. Their contradictory personalities ultimate...

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...ely for living. Ultimately, the kids paid the price for their parents' misdeeds in life, all of them at one time falling under the cruel hands of Heathcliff, which was the uniting factor among the second generation.

Bibliography:

Bell, Vereen M. "Wuthering Heights and the Unforgivable Sin." Nineteenth-Century Fiction. Vol. 17, No. 2, September, 1962, pp. 188-91. Online. Galenet.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1996.

Federico, Annette R. "The Waif at the Window: Emily Bronte's Feminine 'Bildungsroman.'" The Victorian Newsletter. No. 68. Fall, 1985. pp. 26-28. Online. Galenet.

Shapiro, Arnold. "Wuthering Heights as a Victorian Novel." Studies in the Novel. Vol. 1, No. 3, Fall, 1969. pp. 284-95. Online. Galenet.

Woodford, Donna C. "An Overview of Wuthering Heights." Exploring Novels. Gale. 1998.

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