Evil Literature

Withering Heights by Emily Bronte was deemed as a disturbing story of sinful and Evil content; many people would say its guilty as opposed to innocent. This expression came to use after the publication of Literature and Evil by Georges Bataille.

When we think of the word innocent, the word good also comes to mind. Innocence is the state of having done nothing wrong, and so something that commits no wrongs must then be good, and therefore free from guilt. Bataille gives this utilitarian based view of Good; it is based on a common interest which entails consideration of the future . So something that is not based on a common interest, and does not consider the future and consequences of itself cannot be classed as Good, or innocent, and so must be bad, and therefore can be said to be Evil.

So it must follow that Evil, in opposition to Good, lacks these restraints, and does not consider the future it merely exists in the moment it presents. This is why it is so relevant to Literature when we read Literature we are just existing in the moment of the novel it takes no consideration of anything but that moment that it presents. It allows us to explore this world, with no consequences. We are able to suspend our disbelief, and enter the mystical state of the novel that we can experience in this solitude. Also, if the content reveals a narrative where there are also no restraints, then this state is intensified.

As we know, the love of Catherine and Heathcliff is the focus of Wuthering Heights, so there is much to be explored here the issue of the love presented in the novel, the status of the characters involved, and how this all relates to Batailles opinion on the guilt of Literature in general.

So in the eyes of the world, Heathcliff repr esents Evil, and all it stands for. But, as Bataille himself says, Heathcliff believes he represents Good and reason . Heathcliff is questioning society and its limits, and this is where the theme of transgression becomes important. Heathcliff is trying to transgress through society and its laws, and so he represents opposition to social restrictions. Bataille describes this transgression as a tragic violation of the law, which leads the novel to have a certain affinity with Greek tragedy atonement is connected with transgression.

Bataille believes that, in writing Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte had fathomed the very depths of Evil . From his study, it seems that perhaps you have to be Evil yourself to write Literature at all, because you have to be unlimited free of restraints and as we know, to lack these constraints is seen as Evil. Jacques Blondel believes Bronte emancipated herself from all prejudice of an ethical or social order, and he believes this l iberation is necessary to every artist. He also says this can be felt most intensely by those in whom ethical values are most deeply rooted , as they have a thorough knowledge of Good, so can easily present the opposite. Due to these values, Bronte is able to resolve the problems in her novel this manly being the purity of love being regained in its intimate truth, which as Bataille said, is that of death. It seems true to say that only by knowing Good can you know Evil to know the opposite of something is essential in defining it, for example, the states of hot and cold.

So, as Bataille says Evil is always the object of an ambiguous condemnation . It is bad to have no concern for the future or rationality, so when Literature causes this in us, then it must be found guilty. So it seems Bataille is justified in pointing to the guilt of Literature, as it culpable of the charges he brings to it, but the important question is whether or not this causes Literature it self to be Evil? I do not think it can, because as we have seen, it may do more good than harm to society, because we can learn from it the consequences of refraining from following rationality and order in life. Bataille is, then, justified in saying Literature is guilty, because he proves his case, but it cannot be said that it is guilty of anything bad, so the conclusion we must draw here seems to be that Literature is guilty of something but something other than being Evil.

The article was produced by Research Papers expert writer. Mar Anne Winslow has a vast experience in Dissertation writing counselling and term paper writing services for several years.

Author:: Mary Anne Winslow
Keywords:: Heights, Evil, Literature, Innocence
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips