Bipolar Disorder In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

Vincent Van Gogh, a famous Dutch painter, lived with bipolar disorder for the majority of his life and despite his mental illness, he still produced many famous paintings, one of his most known is The Starry Night. Although many people have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, they can still live the life they want to live with proper treatments. Bipolar disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as a “brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out daily tasks” (“Bipolar Disorder in Adults”). In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Cathy Earnshaw is described as a spirited and strong willed young child, often getting in trouble. During her adolescent years she kept the same sense of sauciness, but her moods are more varied now: she displays “...seasons of gloom…” as Nelly describes them (Bronte 100). Catherine Earnshaw is unofficially diagnosed with bipolar

Catherine possesses the tell tale signs of bipolar disorder. She had highs of very frenzied action and she had many days where she rarely did a thing, let alone leave her room. She is irritable at times, but everyone excuses “...her to a certain extent, on the plea of ill-health…” (Bronte 110). Nelly tells the servants at the Grange to listen to her needs and be very attentive to her, so that she may not be angered. In addition to her irritability, her sleeping and eating habits alter throughout the novel. In Chapter 10, Nelly describes Cathy waking her in the middle of the night because she needs a companion to stay awake with her (Bronte). She has racing thoughts that often keep her up late at night. Nelly illustrates that Cathy’s eating habits have altered when she says that Catherine has been “scarcely eating anything” and “...she could neither eat nor drink…” (Bronte 139 and