The Tragic Perspective

What is tragedy? Downfall of an individual of high status Brought about by hero’s tragic flaw Tragedy started by hero’s action Series of seemingly inevitable catastrophes occur which affect the fate of a whole area or nation Ends with death of hero and restoration of order (cathartic ending)

What is “tragic vision”? A writer’s view of what causes tragedy These factors are often referred to as the context of the novel – historical, political, social or religious

https://prezi.com/sdj4arnswxgv/tragedy-and-gothic-literature/

The tragic visions of the two novels Wuthering Heights A person’s / society’s actions determine fate Tragedy is therefore caused by man

Influences on Bronte’s tragic vision Father was a curate Orthodox Christian view of benevolent God who created a perfect world She believed in human sin and God’s justice after death Pre-Darwinian period ie no concept of human evolution without God’s help

How does this affect her tragic vision? If you believe that the world is essentially a good place to live, and that God will look after you, the only thing that can disrupt this world is man (as taught by the story of Garden of Eden) This means that for Bronte, tragedy can only be caused by human action

If you are writing in a time when you (and your readers) believe in God’s judgement of sinners, you are expected to write a novel which delivers justice in a Christian context to those who sin. This provides the typical cathartic ending of a tragedy.

How does Bronte's tragic vision fit with the classical definition of tragedy Heathcliff = tragic hero but does not have an innate flaw (ie born with it) His violence is partly caused by the way he is treated by society (represented by Hindley) Heathcliff and Cathy’s union in death is at least one of the possible endings

If we accept this as cathartic, then we have to accept that the tragic hero, although dead, has not been punished This interpretation of the ending troubled Victorian readers, including Charlotte Bronte Only by reading the end as a celebration of Catherine and Hareton’s union can we see the ending as that of a typical tragedy

To sum up … Neither novel presents typical tragedy Both were radical in their own ways and both experimented with the genre These experiments were influenced by the writers beliefs The tragic experiences of the characters are therefore dependent on the period and context of each text’s production