In this paper, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847) from English Literature and Nabizade Nazım’s Zehra (1894) from Turkish Literature are studied in the frame of psychoanalytic criticism. Psychoanalytic criticism derives mainly from the psychoanalytical studies and theories of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and then developed in the field of literature by the following literary critics in the beginning of the 20th century. According to psychoanalytical criticism, works of literature, like dreams, should be examined in detail to reveal hidden meanings. In addition to the first studies depending on author’s biography based studies, then, focusing on the background motivations of characters’ unusual behaviours in literary works has also become a contemporary trend in psychoanalytical criticism. So, following the character based method in psychoanalysis, in this paper, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Nabizade Nazım’s Zehra are discussed in terms of their main characters’ unconscious motivations underlying their unusual behaviours. In the conclusion part, it is observed that the main characters of both Wuthering Heights and Zehra have neurotic symptoms which underly their revengeful behaviours depending on not answering their unconscious wishes. As a result, it is seen that the main characters of the both novels become selfish and loser characters in the end.
Nabizade Nazım, Emily Bronte, Zehra, Wuthering Heights, Psychoanalysis