The Incest Taboo in Wuthering Heights

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Description

Contemporary analysis of Wuthering Heights necessitates a re-appraisal in light of advancements in the study of incest in non-literary fields such as history, anthropology, and especially psychology. A modern reading suggests that an unconscious incest taboo impeded Heathcliff and Cathy's expectation of normal sexual union and led them to seek union after death. John Milton's Paradise Lost provides a paradigm by which to examine the consequences of incest from two perspectives: that of incest as a metaphor for evil, as represented in Heathcliff; that of incest as symbolic of pre-Lapsarian innocence, as represented in Cathy. The tragic consequences of Heathcliff … continued below

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iv, 89 leaves

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McGuire, Kathryn B. (Kathryn Bezard) August 1987.

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  • McGuire, Kathryn B. (Kathryn Bezard)

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Contemporary analysis of Wuthering Heights necessitates a re-appraisal in light of advancements in the study of incest in non-literary fields such as history, anthropology, and especially psychology. A modern reading suggests that an unconscious incest taboo impeded Heathcliff and Cathy's expectation of normal sexual union and led them to seek union after death. John Milton's Paradise Lost provides a paradigm by which to examine the consequences of incest from two perspectives: that of incest as a metaphor for evil, as represented in Heathcliff; that of incest as symbolic of pre-Lapsarian innocence, as represented in Cathy. The tragic consequences of Heathcliff and Cathy's incestuous fixation are resolved by the socially-condoned marriage of Hareton and Catherine, which illuminates Bronte's belief in the Miltonic theme that good inevitably triumphs over evil.

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iv, 89 leaves

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  • August 1987

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  • March 9, 2015, 8:15 a.m.

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  • Oct. 28, 2016, 11:09 a.m.

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McGuire, Kathryn B. (Kathryn Bezard). The Incest Taboo in Wuthering Heights, thesis, August 1987; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500863/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .

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