Is Catherine just attention seeking or is it something deeper? Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) is characterized by “a long-standing pattern of attention seeking behavior and extreme emotionality,” two things Catherine has in abundance. She is prone to temper tantrums from a young age continuing right up until her death, when finally seeing Heathcliff again throws her into a fit so severe it ends her life. Her discomfort when she is not at the centre of attention is obvious, when she slaps Edgar and he threatens to leave. Although he was the one in pain, Cathy begins crying and warns that she will “cry herself sick” (74).
Not only this but her tendency to swing between emotions quickly and violently, as in her conversation about dreams with Nelly where she switches from excitement to anger and back again. Her propensity for over exaggeration, theatricality and self-dramatization are also shown in their conversation when she says, “I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home, and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth” (82). She is also incredibly suggestible, as shown when she goes from “wild [and] savage” (54) to lady-like over the space of five weeks at the Lintons.
All of these are symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder, and point to Catherine suffering from HPD. So should we excuse her behaviour for something beyond her control or condemn her for her actions regardless of mental illness?
Not only this but her tendency to swing between emotions quickly and violently, as in her conversation about dreams with Nelly where she switches from excitement to anger and back again. Her propensity for over exaggeration, theatricality and self-dramatization are also shown in their conversation when she says, “I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home, and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth” (82). She is also incredibly suggestible, as shown when she goes from “wild [and] savage” (54) to lady-like over the space of five weeks at the Lintons.
All of these are symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder, and point to Catherine suffering from HPD. So should we excuse her behaviour for something beyond her control or condemn her for her actions regardless of mental illness?
1 Comment