Mental Illnesses In Wuthering Heights And Jane Eyre By Emily Bronte

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In 2007, Britney Spears made her bipolar breakdown public by shaving her hair off. This is one of the first samples that mental illnesses were shown prevalent. In Wuthering Height by Emily Bronté and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë show many different signs of mental illness, none of them as public as Britney Spears. Due to mental illnesses in each book, each of the characters affect one another in a negative way. In Wuthering Heights Heathcliff and Linton display antisocial personality disorder behaviors. Heathcliff’s obsession of getting revenge can be regarded at an immature level of development. This under development can result in hostile, and destructive behavior. From a very young age Heathcliff is very fond of Cathy Earnshaw. He builds a strong friendship with Catherine that is so strong she considers herself “[as] Heathcliff” (96). Heathcliff’s idolization of Catherine drives his idea of forcing his son Linton to marry young Cathy
Eliza is a schizoid become of the damage John Reed does makes her no longer want to be apart of her family. To escape her problems, Eliza decides to live in a convent to be alone and at peace for the rest of her life. Once Eliza becomes a responsible young lady she takes care of her paranoid mother, Sarah. Sarah believes that Jane Eyre will steal all their family inheritance, while in reality Jane Eyre receives money from her uncle and John Reed destroys the family’s wealth. Catherine is like Sarah because she believe that the two men that love her the most are out to kill her, she also is a narcissist because she believes she can not marry Heathcliff because of his low status in their society, yet she also believes to be “a pleasure to [herself]” (84). Catherine has a unhealthy obsession with a happily ever after that she will never get. Catherine believes that “time will change [her love for her husband]”

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