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Chapter 1, Summary


In Chapter 1 the narrator, Mr. Lockwood, relates how he has just returned from a visit to his new


landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. Lockwood, a self-described misanthropist, is renting Thrushcross


Grange in an effort to get away from society following a failure at love. He had fallen in love with


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a real goddess, but when she returned his affection he acted so coldly she persuaded her


mamma to decamp. He finds that relative to Heathcliff, however, he is extremely sociable.


Heathcliff, a dark skinned gypsy, in aspect, in dress, and manners a gentleman treats his visitor


with a minimum of friendliness, and the farm, Wuthering Heights, where he lives, is just as foreign


and unfriendly. Wuthering means stormy and windy in the local dialect. Dangerous-looking


dogs inhabit the bare and old-fashioned rooms, and threaten to attack Lockwood when he calls


for help Heathcliff implies that Lockwood had tried to steal something. The only other inhabitants


of Wuthering Heights are an old servant named Joseph and a cook. Despite his rudeness,


Lockwood finds himself drawn to Heathcliff he describes him as being intelligent, proud and


morose, an unlikely farmer, and declares his intention to visit Wuthering Heights again. The visit


is set in 1801.


Analysis


This chapter introduces the reader to the frame of the story Lockwood will gradually discover


the events which led to Heathcliff ­ now about forty years old ­ living all but alone in Wuthering


Heights, almost completely separated from society. The casual violence and lack of concern for


manners or consideration for other people which characterizes Heathcliff here is only a hint of the


atmosphere of the whole novel, in which that violence is contrasted with more genteel and


civilized ways of living.


Chapter , Summary


Annoyed by the housework being done in the Grange, Lockwood pays a second visit to


Wuthering Heights, arriving there just as snow begins to fall. The weather is cold, the ground is


frozen, and his reception matches the bleak unfriendliness of the moors. After yelling at the old


servant Joseph to open the door, he is finally let in by a peasant-like young man. The bare kitchen


is warm, and Lockwood assumes that the young and beautiful girl there is Mrs. Heathcliff. He


tries to make conversation but she is consistently scornful and inhospitable, and he only


embarrasses himself. There is a kind of desperation in her eyes. She refuses to make him tea


unless Heathcliff said he could have some. The young man and Heathcliff come in for tea. The


young man behaves boorishly and seems to suspect Lockwood of making advances to the girl.


Heathcliff demands tea savagely, and Lockwood decides he doesnt really like him. Trying to


make conversation again, Lockwood gets into trouble first assuming that the girl is Heathcliffs


wife, and then that she is married to the young man, who he supposes to be Heathcliffs son. He is


rudely corrected, and it transpires that the girl is Heathcliffs daughter-in-law but her husband is


dead, as is Heathcliffs wife. The young man is Hareton Earnshaw. It is snowing hard and


Lockwood requests a guide so he can return home safely, but he is refused Heathcliff considers it


more important that Hareton take care of the horses. Joseph, who is evidently a religious fanatic,


argues with the girl, who frightens him by pretending to be a witch. The old servant doesnt like


her reading. Lockwood, left stranded and ignored by all, tries to take a lantern, but Joseph


offensively accuses him of stealing it, and sets dogs on him. Lockwood is humiliated and


Heathcliff and Hareton laugh. The cook, Zillah, takes him in and says he can spend the night.


Analysis


The character of the natural setting of the novel ­ the moors, snowstorms ­ begins to develop, and


it becomes clear that the bleak and harsh nature of the Yorkshire hills is not merely a geographical


accident. It mirrors the roughness of those who live there Wuthering Heights is firmly planted in


its location and could not exist anywhere else. Knowing Emily Bront�s passionate fondness for


her homeland, we can expect the same bleakness which Lockwood finds so disagreeable to take


on a wild beauty. Its danger cannot be forgotten, though a stranger to those parts could easily


lose his way and die of exposure. Heathcliff and the wind are similar in that they have no pity for


weakness. The somewhat menacing presence of the natural world can also be seen in the large


number of dogs who inhabit Wuthering Heights they are not kept for pets.


The power dynamics that Lockwood observes in the household of Wuthering Heights are


extremely important. The girl is evidently frightened of Heathcliff and scornful of Hareton;


Hareton behaves aggressively because he is sensitive about his status; Heathcliff does not hesitate


to use his superior physical strength and impressive personality to bully other members of his


household... The different ways in which different characters try to assert themselves reveal a lot


about their situation. Most notably, it is evident that sheer force usually wins out over intellectual


and humane pretensions. The girl is subversive and intellectual, an unwilling occupant of the


house, but she can achieve little in the way of freedom or respect.


Lockwood continues to lose face his conversational grace appears ridiculous in its new setting.


Talking to Heathcliff, for example, he refers to the girl as a beneficent fairy, which is evidently


neither true nor welcome flattery. This chapter might be seen, then, as a continuation of the strict


division between social ideals (grace, pleasant social interactions, Lockwood) and natural realities


(storms, frost, dogs, bluntness, cruelty, Hareton, Heathcliff). If the chapter was taken by itself, out


of context, the reader would see that while social ideals are ridiculed, it is clear that the cruel


natural world is ugly and hardly bearable. Fortunately we are only at the beginning.


Chapter , Summary


Zillah quietly shows Lockwood to a chamber which, she says, Heathcliff does not like to be


occupied. She doesnt know why, having only lived there for a few years. Left alone, Lockwood


notices the names Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Linton, and Catherine Heathcliff scrawled


over the window ledge. He leafs through some old books stacked there, and finds that the margins


are covered in handwriting ­ evidently the child Catherines diary. He reads some entries which


evoke a time in which Catherine and Heathcliff were playmates living together as brother and


sister, and bullied by Joseph (who made them listen to sermons) and her older brother Hindley.


Apparently Heathcliff was a vagabond taken in by Catherines father, raised as one of the family,


but when the father died Hindley made him a servant and threatened to throw him out, to


Catherines sorrow.


Lockwood then falls asleep over a religious book, and has a nightmare about a fanatical preacher


leading a violent mob. Lockwood wakes up, hears that a sound in his dream had really been a


branch rubbing against the window, and falls asleep again. This time he dreams that he wanted to


open the window to get rid of the branch, but when he did, a little, ice-cold hand grabbed his


arm, and a voice sobbed let me in. He asked who it was, and was answered Catherine Linton.


Im come home, Id lost my way on the moor. He saw a childs face and, afraid, drew the childs


wrist back and forth on the broken glass of the window so that blood soaked the sheets. Finally he


gets free, and insists that he wont let the creature in, even if it has been lost for twenty years,


which it claims it has. He awakes screaming.


Heathcliff comes in, evidently disturbed and confused, unaware that Lockwood is there.


Lockwood tells him what happened, mentioning the dream and Catherine Lintons name, which


distresses and angers Heathcliff. Lockwood goes to the kitchen, but hears on his way Heathcliff at


the window, despairingly begging Cathy to come in at last. Lockwood is embarrassed by his


hosts obvious agony.


Morning comes Lockwood witnesses an argument between Heathcliff and the girl, who has been


reading. He bullies her, and she resists spiritedly. Heathcliff walks Lockwood most of the way


home in the snow.


Analysis


It is very important that the ghost of Catherine Linton (who is not perhaps simply a figment of


Lockwoods imagination) appears as a child. Of course Lockwood thinks of her as a child, since


he had just read parts of her early diary, but Heathcliff also seems to find it natural that she


appeared in the form she had when they were children together. Rather than progressing from


childhood on to a maturer age with its different values, Heathcliff and Catherine never really


grew up. That is to say, everything emotionally important that ever happened in their lives either


took place in childhood or follows directly from commitments made then. They never essentially


outgrew their solidarity against the oppressive forces of adult authority and religion which is


described in Catherines diary. Thus the ghost of Catherine Linton (and that is her married name)


tries to return to her childhood sanctuary, which Heathcliff has kept in its original state. The


dominion of linear time is challenged.


It might be relevant here to remember that Emily Bront� kept up the imaginary world created


when she was very young well into her early twenties, and hated to leave the home of her


childhood.


Chapter 4, Summary


Lockwood is bored and a little weak after his adventures, so he asks his housekeeper, Ellen Dean,


to tell him about the history of Heathcliff and the old families of the area. She says he is very rich


and a miser, though he has no family, since his son is dead. The girl living at Wuthering Heights


was the daughter of Ellens former employers, the Lintons, and her name was Catherine. She is the


daughter of the late Mrs. Catherine Linton, was born an Earnshaw, thus Haretons aunt.


Heathcliffs wife was Mr. Lintons sister. Ellen is fond of the younger Catherine, and worries about


her unhappy situation.


The narrative switches to Ellens voice, whose language is much plainer than Lockwoods. She is a


discreet narrator, rarely reminding the listener of her presence in the story, so that the events she


recounts appear immediate. She says she had grown up at Wuthering Heights, and one day


Mr. Earnshaw offered to bring his children Hindley (14 years old) and Catherine (about 6) a


present each from Liverpool, where he was going. Hindley asked for a fiddle and Catherine for a


whip, because she was already an excelled horsewoman. When Earnshaw returned, however, he


brought with him a dirty, ragged, black-haired child found starving on the streets. The presents


had been lost or broken. The boy was named Heathcliff and taken into the family, though not


entirely welcomed by Mrs. Earnshaw, Ellen, and Hindley. He and Catherine became very close,


and Heathcliff was Earnshaws favorite. Hindley felt that his place was usurped, and took it out on


Heathcliff, who was hardened and stoical. For example, Earnshaw gave them each a colt, and


Heathcliff chose the finest, which went lame. Heathcliff then claimed Hindleys, and when Hindley


threw a heavy iron at him, threatened to tell Earnshaw about it if he didnt get the colt.


Analysis


A movement to the past is made in this chapter from now on, Lockwood will gradually lose


importance as the story of Heathcliff and Catherines childhood becomes more and more vibrant.


However, we cannot entirely neglect the role Ellen Dean plays as a narrator her personality


means that the events she recounts are presented in a particular way. She is practical and, like a


good housekeeper, tends to incline to the side of order. Even when she was young, she did not


really participate in the private lives of the children of Wuthering Heights, and has little access to


the relationship of Heathcliff and Catherine. Bront� demonstrates her versatility in using different


points of view, faithfully recording her various characters distinctive styles of speech.


Considering character development, it is interesting to know what Heathcliff and Catherine were


like as children since, as we have seen in the previous chapter, their essential natures remain very


much the same. Seen from Ellens point of view. Catherine was willful and mischievous and


Heathcliff was uncomplaining but vindictive.


Chapter 5, Summary


Earnshaw grew old and sick ­ his wife had died some years before ­ and with his illness he became


irritable and somewhat obsessed with the idea that people disliked his favorite, Heathcliff.


Heathcliff was spoiled as a result, to keep Earnshaw happy, and Hindley, who became more and


more bitter about the situation, was sent away to college. Joseph, already the wearisomest,


self-righteous pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself, and fling the


curses to his neighbors, used his religious influence over Earnshaw to distance him from his


children. Earnshaw thought Hindley was worthless, and didnt like Cathys playfulness and high


spirits, so in his last days he was irritable and discontented. Cathy was much too fond of


Heathcliff, and liked to order people around. Heathcliff would do anything she asked. Her father


was harsh to her and she became hardened to his reproofs.


Finally Earnshaw died one evening when Cathy had been resting her head against his knee and


Heathcliff was lying on the floor with his head in her lap. When she wanted to kiss her father good


night, she discovered he was dead and the two children began to cry, but that night Ellen saw that


they had managed to comfort each other with better thoughts than [she] could have hit on,


imagining the old man in heaven


Analysis


The extremely close and entirely sexless relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy already


manifests itself in an opposition to the outside world of parental authority and religion. Cathy is


already charming and manipulative, though her love for her father is real.


The false, oppressive religion of Joseph is juxtaposed with the pure, selfless thoughts of heaven of


the grieving children.


The decline and death of Earnshaw highlights the bond between the physical body and the spirit.


The old man had formerly been charitable, loving, and open, but his physical weakness makes him


irritable and peevish the spirit is corrupted by the bodys decline. One might remember that Emily


Bront� watched her brother die wretchedly of alcohol and drug abuse, having had dreams of glory


and gallantry in his youth.


Chapter 6, Summary


Hindley returns home, unexpectedly bringing his wife, a flighty woman with a strange fear of


death and symptoms of consumption (although Ellen did not at first recognize them as such).


Hindley also brought home new manners and rules, and informed the servants that they would


have to live in inferior quarters. Most importantly, he treated Heathcliff as a servant, stopping his


education and making him work in the fields like any farmboy. Heathcliff did not mind too much


at first because Cathy taught him what she learned, and worked and played with him in the fields.


They stayed away from Hindley as much as possible and grew up uncivilized and free. It was one


of their chief amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day, and


after punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at.


One day they ran off after being punished, and at night Heathcliff returned. He told what had


happened. He and Cathy ran to the Grange to see how people lived there, and they saw the Linton


children Edgar and Isabella in a beautiful room, crying after an argument over who could hold the


pet dog. Amused and scornful, Heathcliff and Cathy laughed; the Lintons head them and called for


their parents. After making frightening noises, the wilder children tried to escape, but a bulldog bit


Cathys leg and refused to let go. She told Heathcliff to escape but he would not leave her, and


tried to pry the animals jaws open. They were captured and brought inside, taken for thieves.


When Edgar recognized Cathy as Miss Earnshaw, the Lintons expressed their disgust at the


childrens wild manners and especially at Heathcliffs being allowed to keep Cathy company. They


coddled Cathy and drove Heathcliff out; he left after assuring himself that Cathy was all right.


When Hindley found out, he welcomed the chance to separate Cathy and Heathcliff, so Cathy was


to stay for a prolonged visit with the Lintons and Heathcliff was forbidden to speak to her.


Analysis


In this chapter we first hear Heathcliff speak for a long time, and it is worth noting how his


language differs from the narrators we have heard so far. He is more expressive and emotional


than the other two, and his speech is more literary than Ellens and less artificial than Lockwoods.


He tends to speak in extreme and vibrant terms expressing his scorn for Edgar Lintons


cowardice and whiny gentility, he says Id not exchange, for a thousand lives, my condition here,


for Edgar Lintons at Thrushcross Grange ­ not if I might have the privilege of flinging Joseph off


the highest gable, and painting the housefront with Hindleys blood! He admires the comparative


luxury of the Grange and recognizes its beauty, but he remains entirely devoted to the freedom of


his life with Cathy, and cannot understand the selfishness of the spoiled children When would


you catch me wishing to have what Catherine wanted? His devotion to Cathy is clear, and


appears to him to be completely natural and inescapable she is so immeasurably superior to them


­ to everyone one earth; is she not, Nelly? He admires her for her bravery, and he possesses that


same kind of bravery.


The image of the two civilized children inside the beautiful room, and the two wild children


outside ­ both boy and girl of similar ages ­ makes the glass of the window take on the role of a


kind of mirror. However, the mirror shows the complete opposite rather than the true images of


those who look into it.


Chapter 7, Summary


Ellen resumes the narrative. Cathy stayed at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks, until Christmas.


When she returned home she had been transformed into a young lady with that roles attending


restrictions she could no longer kiss Ellen without worrying about getting flour on her dress. She


hurt Heathcliffs feelings by comparing his darkness and dirtiness to Edgar and Isabellas fair


complexions and clean clothes. The boy had become more and more neglected in her absence, and


was cruelly put in his place by Hindley and especially by Cathys new polish. Cathys affection for


him had not really changed, but he did not know this and ran out, refusing to come in for supper.


Ellen was sorry for him.


The Linton children were invited for a Christmas party the next day. That morning Heathcliff


humbly approached Ellen and asked her to make him decent because he was going to be


good. Ellen applauded his resolution and reassured him that Cathy still liked him and that she


was grieved by his shyness. When Heathcliff said he wished he could be more like Edgar ­ fair,


rich, and well-behaved ­ Ellen told him that he could be perfectly handsome without being


effeminate if he smiled more and was more trustful.


However, when Heathcliff, now clean and cheerful tried to join the party, Hindley told him to


go away because he wasnt not fit to be there. Edgar unwisely made fun of his long hair and


Heathcliff threw hot applesauce at him, and was taken away and flogged by Hindley. Cathy was


angry at Edgar for mocking Heathcliff and getting him into trouble, but she didnt want to ruin her


party. She kept up a good front, but didnt enjoy herself, thinking of Heathcliff alone and beaten.


At her first chance ­ her guests gone home ­ she crept into the garret where he was confined.


Later Ellen gave Heathcliff dinner, since he hadnt eaten all day, but he ate little and when she


asked what was wrong, he said he was thinking of how to avenge himself on Hindley.


At this point Ellens narrative breaks off and she and Lockwood briefly discuss the merits of the


active and contemplative life, with Lockwood defending his lazy habits and Ellen saying she


should get things done rather than just telling Lockwood the story. He persuades her to go on.


Analysis


This chapter marks the end of Cathy and Heathcliffs time of happiness and perfect understanding;


Cathy has moved partly into a different sphere, that of the genteel Lintons, and Heathcliff cannot


follow her. Although Cathy still cares for the things she did when the two of them ran wild


together, she is under a lot of pressure to become a lady ­ and she is vain enough to enjoy the


admiration and approval she gets as such from Edgar, Hindley and his wife. Cathys desire to


inhabit two worlds ­ the moors with Heathcliff and the parlor with Edgar ­ is a central driving


force for the novel and eventually results in tragedy. Emily Bront� had experienced a personal


inability to remain true to herself while interacting in conventional social terms, and she chose to


abandon society as a result. Cathy takes a different route.


Just as the window separated the Wuthering Heights children from the Lintons in the last chapter,


a material object separates Cathy from Heathcliff in this one. The fine dress she wears is a very


real boundary between the old friends it must be sacrificed (smudged, crumpled) if the two of


them are to be as close as they were before. It is simultaneously valuable for economic reasons (its


cost), for social ones (the respect Cathy gets on account of it), and because of its artificial beauty.


These same categories will consistently come between Cathy and Heathcliff; he is right to


recognize the dress and what it represents as a threat to his happiness.


Chapter 8, Summary


Hindleys wife Frances gave birth to a child, Hareton, but did not survive long afterwards she had


consumption. Despite the doctors warnings, Hindley persisted in believing that she would


recover, and she seemed to think so too, always saying she felt better, but she died a few weeks


after Haretons birth. Ellen was happy to take care of the baby. Hindley grew desperate; his


sorrow was of a kind that will not lament, he neither wept nor prayed ­ he cursed and defied ­


execrated God and man, and gave himself up to reckless dissipation. The household more or less


collapsed into violent confusion ­ respectable neighbors ceased to visit, except for Edgar,


entranced by Catherine. Heathcliffs ill treatment and the bad example posed by Hindley made him


daily more notable for savage sullenness and ferocity. Catherine disliked having Edgar visit


Wuthering Heights because she had a hard time behaving consistently when Edgar and Heathcliff


met, or when they talked about each other. Edgars presence made her feel as though she had to


behave like a Linton, which was not natural for her.


One day when Hindley was away Heathcliff was offended to find Catherine putting on a silly


frock, getting ready for Edgars visit. He asked her to turn Edgar away and spend the time with


him instead but she refused. Edgar was by this time a gentle, sweet young man. He came and


Heathcliff left, but Ellen stayed as a chaperone, much to Catherines annoyance. She revealed her


bad character by pinching Ellen, who was glad to have a chance to show Edgar what Catherine


was like, and cried out. Catherine denied having pinched her, blushing with rage, and slapped her,


then slapped Edgar for reproving her. He said he would go; she, recovering her senses, asked him


to stay, and he was too weak and enchanted by her stronger will to leave. Brought closer by the


quarrel, the two confessed themselves lovers.


Ellen heard Hindley come home drunk, and out of precaution unloaded his gun.


Analysis


Hindleys dissipation and moral degradation are further evidence that only a strong character can


survive defeat or bereavement without becoming distorted. His desperation is a result of his lack


of firm foundations Ellen says that he had room in his heart for only two idols ­ his wife and


himself ­ he doted on both and adored one. Evidently it is impossible to live well when only


caring about ones self, as Hindley does following his wifes death. It would be interesting to


compare Hindleys behavior and Heathcliffs in the opening chapters both survive after the deaths


of their beloveds, both live in a chaotic and cheerless Wuthering Heights... Heathcliff, however,


has not entirely lost contact with Cathy their closer relationship rules out a complete separation,


even with death.


Emily Bront�s obvious model for Hindley is her brother Branwell, who was sinking into


dissipation when she was writing the novel.


This is the first time we really see Cathy behaving badly, showing that her temper makes the


gentle and repressed life led by Edgar Linton unsuitable for her. Here she blushes with rage and in


a later chapter she refers to her blood being much hotter than Edgars heat and coolness of blood


are markers of different personalities. The physical differences between Cathy and Edgar are


linked to their moral differences, not only in their appearances but even in their blood and bones.


Chapter , Summary


Hindley came in raging drunk and swearing, and caught Ellen in the act of trying to hide Hareton


in a cupboard for safety. He threatened to make Nelly swallow a carving knife, and even tried to


force it between her teeth, but she bravely said shed rather be shot, and spat it out. Then he took


up Hareton and said he would crop his ears like a dog, to make him look fiercer, then held the


toddler over the banister. Hearing Heathcliff walking below, Hindley accidentally dropped the


child, but fortunately Heathcliff caught him. Looking up to see what had happened, he showed


the intensest anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge. In


other words, he hated Hindley so much that he would have liked to have him to kill his own son


by mistake. If it had been dark, Ellen said, he would have tried to remedy the mistake by


smashing Haretons skull on the steps. Hindley was somewhat shaken, and began to drink more.


Heathcliff told Nelly he wished he would drink himself to death, but he had a strong constitution.


In the kitchen Cathy came to talk to Nelly (neither of them knew Heathcliff was in the room,


sitting behind the settle). Cathy said she was unhappy, that Edgar had asked her to marry him and


she had accepted. She asked Nelly what she should have answered. Nelly asked her if and why she


loved Edgar; she said she did for a variety of material reasons he will be rich, and I shall like to


be the greatest woman in the neighborhood, and I shall be proud of such a husband. Nelly


disapproved, and Cathy admitted that she was sure she was wrong she had had a dream in which


she went to heaven and was unhappy there because she missed Wuthering Heights. She said


I have no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked


man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldnt have thought of it. It would degrade


me to marry Heathcliff, now; so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because hes


handsome, Nelly, but because hes more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his


and mine are the same, and Lintons is as different as a moonbeam from lightening, or frost from


fire.


(Heathcliff left after hearing that it would degrade her to marry him.)


Nelly told Cathy that Heathcliff would be deserted if she married Linton, and she indignantly said


that she had no intention of deserting him, but would use her influence to raise him up. Nelly said


Edgar wouldnt like that, to which Cathy replied Every Linton on the face of the earth might


melt into nothing, before I could consent to forsake Heathcliff!


Later that night it turned out that no one knew where Heathcliff was. Cathy went out in the storm


looking for him, unsuccessfully ­ he had run away. The next morning she was sick. After some


time she went to stay with the Lintons ­ a healthier environment ­ and she got better, while Edgar


and Isabellas parents caught the fever and died. She returned to Wuthering Heights saucier, and


more passionate, and haughtier than ever. When Nelly said that Heathcliffs disappearance was


her fault, Cathy stopped speaking to her. She married Edgar three years later, and Ellen


unwillingly went to live with her at the Grange, leaving Hareton to live with his wretched father.


Analysis


The atmosphere of careless violence, despair, and hatred of the first part of the chapter is almost


suffocating. Heathcliffs willingness to kill an innocent child out of revenge is the first real


indication of his lack of morality. It is not altogether clear whether that lack is a partly a result of


his hard childhood and miserable circumstances, or whether he was always like that. Certainly he


appears quite changed from the sensitive boy who wanted to look nice so Cathy wouldnt reject


him for Edgar, and who relied trustfully on Ellen, but he had spoken of wanting to paint the house


with Hindleys blood much earlier.


The definition of love for Cathy and Heathcliff is perhaps Emily Bront�s original creation. It is


not based on appearances, material considerations, sexual attraction, or even virtue, but rather a


shared being. Cathy says I am Heathcliff ­ hes always, always in my mind ­ not as a pleasure,


any more than I am always a pleasure to myself ­ but as my own being. In this sense, her decision


to marry Edgar is a terrible mistake she will be abandoning the essence of herself. Apparently the


sexual aspect of love is so meaningless for her that she believes marriage to Edgar will not come


between her and Heathcliff she would not consciously abandon her soul. Heathcliff thinks


otherwise, since he runs away.


Chapter 10, Summary


Catherine got along surprisingly well with her husband and Isabella, mostly because they never


opposed her. She had seasons of gloom and silence though. Edgar took these for the results of


her serious illness.


When they had been married almost a year, Heathcliff came back. Nelly was outside that evening


and he asked her to tell Catherine someone wanted to see her. He was quite changed a tall and


athletic man who looked as though he might have been in the army, with gentlemanly manners and


educated speech ­ though his eyes contained a half-civilized ferocity. Catherine was overjoyed


and didnt understand why Edgar didnt share her happiness. Heathcliff stayed for tea, to Edgars


peevish irritation. It transpired that Heathcliff was staying at Wuthering Heights, paying Hindley


generously, but winning his hosts money at cards. Catherine wouldnt let Heathcliff actually hurt


her brother.


In the following weeks, Heathcliff often visited the Grange. Isabella ­ a charming young lady of


eighteen ­ became infatuated with him, to her brothers dismay. Isabella became angry at


Catherine for keeping Heathcliff to herself, and Catherine warned her that Heathcliff was a very


bad person to fall in love with and that Isabella was no match for him


I never say to him to let this or that enemy alone, because it would be ungenerous or cruel to


harm them, I say ­ Let them alone, because I should hate them to be wronged; and hed crush


you, like a sparrows egg, Isabella, if he found you a troublesome charge.


Catherine teased Isabella by telling Heathcliff in her presence that she loved him, holding her so


she couldnt run away. Isabella scratched Catherines arm and managed to escape, and Heathcliff,


alone with Catherine, expressed interest in marrying Isabella for her money and to enrage Edgar.


He said he would beat Isabella if they were married because of her mawkish, waxen face.


Analysis


Catherines belief that Edgar should not be jealous of her relationship with Heathcliff emphasizes


the difference in her mind between their relationship and ordinary love affairs. She says that she


does not envy Isabellas yellow hair, so Edgar shouldnt hate to hear her praise Heathcliff ­ he


should be glad for her sake. The comparison with Isabella suggests that she and Heathcliff are


sister and brother, which is evidently not the case ­ but it is a comparison that makes sense for


her.


Catherine uses natural analogies Heathcliff would crush Isabella like a sparrows egg, he is an


arid wilderness of furze and whinstone. Isabella uses what seems to be a natural metaphor, but is


in fact a literary one Catherine is a dog in the manger for keeping Heathcliff to herself. They


speak and think quite differently.


There are also important differences between the ways Edgar and Catherine view class. Edgar


thinks that Heathcliff, a runaway servant, should be entertained in the kitchen, not the parlor.


Catherine jokes that she will have two tables laid, one for the gentry (Edgar and Isabella) and one


for the lower classes (herself and Heathcliff). She and Heathcliff both call the narrator Nelly, while


Edgar coldly calls her Ellen.


Chapter 11, Summary


Nelly went to visit Wuthering Heights to see how Hindley and Hareton were doing. She saw


Hareton outside; he didnt recognize his nurse, threw a rock at her and cursed. She found that his


father had taught him how to curse, and that he liked Heathcliff because he wouldnt let his father


curse him, and let him do what he liked. Nelly was going to go in when she saw Heathcliff there;


frightened, she ran back home.


The next time Heathcliff came to visit Nelly saw him kiss Isabella in the courtyard. She told


Catherine what had happened, and when Heathcliff came in the two had an argument. Heathcliff


said he had a right to do as he pleased, since Catherine was married to someone else. He said


You are welcome to torture me to death for your amusement, only, allow me to amuse myself a


little in the same style.


Nelly found Edgar, who came in while Catherine was scolding Heathcliff. He scolded her for


talking to that blackguard, which made her very angry, since she had been defending the


Lintons. Edgar ordered Heathcliff to leave, who scornfully ignored him. Edgar motioned for Nelly


to fetch reinforcements, but Catherine angrily locked the door and threw the key into the fire


when Edgar tried to get it from her. Humiliated and furious, Edgar was mocked by Catherine and


Heathcliff, but he hit Heathcliff and went out by the back door to get help. Nelly told Heathcliff


that he would be thrown out by the male servants if he stayed, so he chose to leave.


Left with Nelly, Catherine expressed her anger at her husband and her friend Well, if I cannot


keep Heathcliff for my friend ­ if Edgar will be mean and jealous, Ill try to break their hearts by


breaking my own. Edgar came in and demanded to know whether she would drop Heathcliffs


acquaintance, and she had a temper tantrum, ending with a faked fit of frenzy. When Nelly


revealed that the fit was faked, she ran to her room and refused to come out or to eat for several


days.


Analysis


Nelly may seem to be rather unfeeling in her unsympathetic descriptions of Catherine and


Heathcliff, but her behavior to Hareton and Hindley (who was her foster-brother) reveals her to


be extremely tender-hearted and maternal at time. She is, however, independent and spirited, and


doesnt like to be imposed on or bullied by Catherine, so she has no qualms about siding with


Edgar when her mistress is being temperamental.


The strain imposed on the three characters, Catherine, Edgar, and Heathcliff, has finally resulted


in outright violence it is no longer possible to conceal the strength of the emotions involved.


Edgar in particular is put into a difficult situation the other two are used to violent expressions of


feeling, but he is not, and hates having to adjust to their modes of communication. He is more


committed to gentility of behavior than the others, although they now appear as well-dressed and


cultivated as he does.


Heathcliff and Catherine call Edgar a lamb, a sucking leverett, and a milk-blooded coward.


The first two insults are natural images that might easily come to mind for people who grew up on


the moors; the third again uses the blood imagery which appears to be central to the way they


think about personality.


Chapter 1, Summary


After three days in which Catherine stayed alone in her room, Edgar sat in the library, and Isabella


moped in the garden, Catherine called Nelly for some food and water because she thought she


was dying. She ate some toast, and was indignant to hear that Edgar wasnt frantic about her; she


said How strange! I thought, though everybody hated and despised each other, they could not


avoid loving me ­ and they have all turned to enemies in a few hours. It became clear to Ellen


that she was delirious, and thought she was back in her room at Wuthering Heights she was


frightened of her face in the mirror because she thought there was no mirror there. She opened the


window and talked to Heathcliff (who was not there) as though they were children again. Edgar


came in and was much concerned for Catherine, and angry at Ellen for not having told him what


was going on.


Going to fetch a doctor, Ellen notices Isabellas little dog almost dead, hanging by a handkerchief


on the gate. She released it, and found Dr. Kenneth, who told her that he had seen Isabella


walking for hours in the park with Heathcliff. Ellen found that Isabella had indeed disappeared,


and a little boy told her he had seen the girl riding away with Heathcliff. Ellen told Edgar, hoping


he would rescue his sister from her ill-considered elopement, but he coldly refused to do so.


Analysis


In her delirium, Catherine reveals that her true emotional identity has not altered since she was


twelve, just before she stayed with the Lintons for some weeks. Everything that happened to her


since then ceases to have any importance when she is irrational


...supposing at twelve years old, I had been wrenched from the Heights, and every early


association, and my all in all, as Heathcliff was at that time, and been converted, at a stroke, into


Mrs. Linton, the lady of Thrushcross Grange, and the wife of a stranger; an exile, and outcast,


thenceforth, from what had been my world ­ You may fancy a glimpse at the abyss where I


groveled!


Time is unimportant it has no effect on true, deep emotions in Bront�s world.


Edgars coldness to Isabella seems to result from pique at having his sister desert him for his


greatest enemy. His willingness to abandon her because of hurt pride is perhaps his greatest moral


flaw. The emphasis he places on personal dignity differentiates him from the other characters, who


certainly have many faults, though not that one.


Chapter 1, Summary


In the next two months Catherine encountered and conquered the worst shock of what was


denominated a brain fever, but it was realized that she would never really recover. She was


pregnant. Heathcliff and Isabella returned to Wuthering Heights and Isabella wrote Edgar an


apology and a plea for forgiveness, to which he gave no reply. She later sent Ellen a longer letter


asking whether Heathcliff were a demon or crazy, and recounting her experiences. She found


Wuthering Heights dirty, uncivilized and unwelcoming Joseph was rude to her, Hareton was


disobedient, Hindley was a half-demented mere wreck of a man, and Heathcliff treated her cruelly.


He refused to let her sleep in his room, which meant she had to stay in a tiny garret. Hindley had a


pistol with a blade on it, with which he dreamed of killing Heathcliff, and Isabella coveted it for


the power it would have given her. She was miserable and regretted her marriage heartily.


Analysis


Isabellas reactions to her new home reveal her character to be lacking in moral strength although


she tries at first to stand up to Joseph and Hareton, her ladylike education has in no way prepared


her for her married life, so when she loses her pride she has little else to fall back on. Her envy


upon seeing Hindleys pistol is a little disconcerting, and she herself is horrified by the realization


of it.


It is worth noting the unfortunate position of women who depend on men Isabella cannot escape


from Heathcliff without the help of her brother, who does not want to help her. Surrounded by


hatred and indifference, she can only fall back on Ellens pity.


Chapter 14, Summary


Ellen, distressed by Edgars refusal to console Isabella, went to visit her. She told Isabella and


Heathcliff that Catherine would never be what she was and that Heathcliff should not bother her


anymore. Heathcliff asserted that he would not leave her to Edgars lukewarm care, and that she


loved him much more than her husband. He said that if he had been in Edgars place he would


never have interfered with Catherines friendships, although he would kill the friend the moment


she no longer cared about him.


Nelly told Heathcliff to treat Isabella better, and he expressed his scorn and hatred for her (in her


presence, of course). He said she knew what he was when she married him she had seen him


hanging her pet dog. Isabella told Nelly that she hated him, and Heathcliff ordered her upstairs so


he could talk to Nelly.


Alone with her, he told her that if she did not arrange an interview for him with Catherine, he


would force his way in armed, and she agreed to give Catherine a letter from him.


Analysis


This chapter includes a great deal of criticism for the Lintons Edgar is called proud and unfeeling,


and Heathcliff says that Isabella was actually attracted by his brutality until she herself suffered


from it. Edgars explanation of refusal to write to Isabella is extremely unconvincing I am not


angry, but sorry to have lost her especially as I can never think shell be happy. It is out of the


question my going to see her, however; we are eternally divided. He is angry, of course, because


he hates Heathcliff presumably he is jealous of him. Heathcliff considers Edgars version of love


to be selfish, as though Edgar thought he owned his wife, and had a right to restrict her behavior


Had he been in my place, and I in his, though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to


gall, I never would have raised a hand against him... I never would have banished him from her


society, as long as she desired his. Correspondingly, he imagines Catherines affection for Edgar


in terms of property He is scarcely a degree dearer to her than her dog, or her horse ­ It is not in


him to be loved like me. Material wealth has always been associated with the Lintons, so


Heathcliff extends ideas of property and ownership to their emotions as well.


The case of Isabella is somewhat different. Heathcliff despises her because she, knowing what he


is, loves him. This is an interesting point Heathcliff is an obviously romantic figure, with his


mysterious past, dark looks, and so on. But Bront� makes it very clear that although he exerts a


certain amount of fascination, he should in no way be considered a hero of romance. For doing


so, Isabella is called a pitiful, slavish, mean-minded brach. In this very romantic novel, one can


never rely on conventional notions of romance brutality should never be considered attractive.


Even Catherine does not find Heathcliff attractive ­ she simply finds him inescapable, a part of


herself.


Chapter 15, Summary


The Sunday after Ellens visit to Wuthering Heights, while most people were at church, she gave


Catherine Heathcliffs letter. Catherine was changed by her sickness she was beautiful in an


unearthly way and her eyes appeared always to gaze beyond, and far beyond. Ellen had left the


door open, so Heathcliff walked in and Catherine eagerly waited for him to find the right room.


Their reunion was bitter-sweet though passionately glad to be reunited, Catherine accused


Heathcliff of having killed her, and Heathcliff warned her not to say such things when he would be


tortured by them after her death ­ besides, she had been at fault by abandoning him. She asked


him to forgive her, since she would not be at peace after death, and he answered It is hard to


forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted hands... I love my murderer ­ but yours!


How can I? They held each other closely and wept until Ellen warned them that Linton was


returning. Heathcliff wanted to leave, but Catherine insisted that he stay, since she was dying and


would never see him again. He consented to stay, and in the midst of the agitation, [Ellen] was


sincerely glad to observe that Catherines arms had fallen relaxed... �Shes fainted or dead, so


much the better... Linton came in, Heathcliff handed him Catherines body and told him to take


care of her Unless you be a fiend, help her first ­ then you shall speak to me! He told Nelly he


would wait outside for news of Catherines welfare, and left.


Analysis


The passionate scene between Catherine and Heathcliff in this chapter is probably the emotional


climax of the novel, though it only marks the middle of the book. It reveals how little their love


relies on pleasure they can hardly be said to be fond of one another, or to enjoy each others


company, yet they are absolutely necessary to each other. It is as though they were members of a


different species from other humans, who belonged together. Ellen says The two, to a cool


spectator, made a strange and fearsome picture. Catherine tore Heathcliffs hair, and he left


bruises on her arm. Later, he foamed like a mad dog, and gathered her to him with greedy


jealousy. [Ellen] did not feel as though [she] were in the company of a member of [her] own


species. Love appears to be a form of madness.


Their emotional reunion is counteracted by Ellens cool and rather unsympathetic narration their


passionate conversation is interspersed with dry commentary on her part.


Chapter 16, Summary


Around midnight Catherine gave birth to a daughter (also named Catherine, the girl Lockwood


saw at Wuthering Heights) and died two hours later without recovering consciousness. No one


cared for the infant at first, and Ellen wished it had been a boy as it was, Edgars heir was


Isabella, Heathcliffs wife. Catherines corpse looked peaceful and beautiful, and Ellen decided that


she had found heaven at last.


She went outside to tell Heathcliff and found him leaning motionless against an ash tree. He knew


she was dead, and asked Ellen how it had happened, attempting to conceal his anguish. Ellen was


not fooled, and told him that she had died peacefully, like a girl falling asleep. He cursed


Catherine and begged her to haunt him so he would not be left in this abyss, where I cannot find


you!... I cannot live without my soul! He dashed his head against the tree and howled like a


savage beast getting goaded to death with knives and spears. Ellen was appalled.


On Tuesday, when Catherines body was still lying, strewn with flowers, in the Grange, Heathcliff


took advantage of Edgars short absence from the chamber of death to see her again, and to


replace Edgars hair in her locket with some of his own. Ellen noticed the change, and enclosed


both locks of hair together.


Catherine was buried on Friday in a green slope in a corner of the kirkyard, where, Ellen said, her


husband lies now as well.


Analysis


The question of what happens after death is important in this chapter and throughout the novel,


though no firm answer is ever given. Ellen is fairly sure Catherine went to heaven, where life is


boundless in its duration, and love in its sympathy, and joy in its fullness. But Heathcliff cannot


conceive of Catherine finding peace when they are still separated, or of his living without her. In


the chapter before, Catherine said Im wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be


always there; not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching


heart, but really with it, and in it. It is as though she had in mind a heaven that was like the moors


in every way but the constraints of physicality the spirit of natural freedom.


Another interesting question that comes up in this chapter is that of the value of self-control and


reserve Heathcliff tries to conceal his weakness and grief, holding a silent combat with his


inward agony, but Ellen considers it to be worse than useless, since he only tempts God to wring


his heart and nerves. Yet we know that Emily herself was almost incredibly self-disciplined,


refusing to alter her everyday life even when suffering a mortal illness.


Chapter 17, Summary


The next day, while Ellen was rocking the baby, Isabella came in laughing giddily. She was pale


and her face was cut; her thin silk dress was torn by briars. She asked Ellen to call the carriage for


the nearest town, Gimmerton, since she was escaping from her husband, and to have a maid get


some clothes ready. Then she allowed Ellen to give her dry clothes and bind up the wound.


Isabella tried to destroy her wedding-ring, and told what had happened to her in the last days


She said that she hated Heathcliff so much that she could feel no compassion for him even when


he was in agony following Catherines death. He hadnt eaten for days, and spent his time at


Wuthering Heights in his room, praying like a methodist; only the deity he implored was


senseless dust and ashes. The evening before, Isabella sat reading while Hindley drank morosely.


When they heard Heathcliff returning from his watch over Catherines grave, Hindley told Isabella


he would lock Heathcliff out, and try to kill him with his bladed pistol if he came in. Isabella


would have liked Heathcliff to die, but refused to help in the scheme, so when Heathcliff knocked


she refused to let him in, saying If I were you, Id go stretch myself over her grave, and die like a


faithful dog... The world is not worth living in now, is it? Hindley came close to the window to


kill Heathcliff, but the latter grabbed the weapon so the blade shut on Hindleys wrist; then he


forced his way in. He kicked and trampled Hindley, who had fainted from the loss of blood, then


roughly bound up the wound, and told Joseph and Isabella to clean up the blood.


The next morning when Isabella came down, Hindley was sitting by the fire, deadly sick; his evil


genius, almost as gaunt and ghastly, leant by the chimney. After eating breakfast by herself, she


told Hindley how he had been kicked when he was down, and mocked Heathcliff for having so


mistreated his beloveds brother, saying to Hindley everyone knows your sister would have been


living now, had it not been for Mr. Heathcliff. Heathcliff was so miserable that he could hardly


retaliate, so Isabella went on and said that if Catherine had married him, he would have beaten her


the way he beat Hindley. Heathcliff threw a knife at her, and she fled, knocking down Hareton,


who was hanging a litter of puppies from a chairback in the doorway. She ran to the Grange.


That morning, she left, never to return to the neighborhood again. Later, in her new home, in the


south, she gave birth to a son, named Linton, an ailing, peevish creature, and died when he was


about 1 years old.


Edgar grew resigned to Catherines death, and loved his daughter, who he called Cathy, very


much. Ellen points out the difference between his behavior and Hindleys in a similar situation.


Hindley died, drunk as a lord, about six months after Catherine. He was just 7, meaning that


Catherine had been 1, Heathcliff was 0, and Edgar was 1. Ellen grieved deeply for him ­ they


had been the same age and were brought up together. She made sure he was decently buried. She


wanted to take Hareton back to the Grange, but Heathcliff said he would keep him, to degrade


him as much as he himself had been degraded. If Edgar insisted on taking Hareton, Heathcliff said


he would claim his own son Linton, so Ellen gave the idea up.


Analysis


Isabellas tendency toward impotent cruelty shows up again in the character of her son Linton.


The question of how cruelty operates in powerful versus weak characters was evidently of great


interest to Bront� and might bear further investigation. One obvious point is that weakness is not


simply equated with goodness, as is often the case in the Christian tradition. Although the weak


are unable to physically express their hatred, they can, like Isabella, use verbal taunts to hurt their


enemies emotionally.


Ellens particular grief for Hindley emphasizes the way characters are paired in the novel Ellen


and Hindley, Heathcliff and Catherine, Edgar and Isabella. These pairs all grew up together


(Ellens mother was Hindleys wet-nurse, so they literally shared mothers milk) under somewhat


fraternal conditions. Bront�s careful structure and concern with symmetry are important


presences throughout the novel, and form an interesting contrast with what might be considered


the chaotic emotions that seem to prevail.


Chapter 18, Summary


In the next twelve years, Cathy Linton grew up to be the most winning thing that ever brought


sunshine into a desolate house. She was fair like a Linton, except for her mothers dark eyes.


High spirited but gentle, she seemed to combine the good qualities of both the Lintons and the


Earnshaws, though she was a little saucy and was used to getting her way. Her father kept her


within the park of the Grange, but she dreamed of going to see some cliffs, Penistone Crags, not


too far away, on the moor.


When Isabella fell ill, she wrote to Edgar to come visit her, so he was gone for three weeks. One


day Cathy asked Ellen to give her some food for a ramble around the grounds ­ she was


pretending to be an Arabian merchant going across the desert with her caravan of a pony and


three dogs. She left the grounds, however, and later Ellen went after her on the road to Penistone


Crags, which passed Wuthering Heights. She found Cathy safe and sound there ­ Heathcliff wasnt


home, and the housekeeper had taken her in ­ chattering to Hareton, now 18 years old. She


offended Hareton though by asking whether he was the masters son, and when he said he wasnt,


saying he was a servant. The housekeeper told her he was her cousin, which made her cry.


Hareton offered her a puppy to console her, which she refused. Ellen told her that her father didnt


want her to go to Wuthering Heights, and asked her not to tell him of her negligence, to which


she agreed.


Analysis


We have moved from the violent and discordant world of adulthood back to harmonious


childhood. The abrupt contrast between the hellish last chapters and this relatively serene and


innocent one could hardly be more clear. One might even suppose that we are witnessing a second


chance the story of the first Catherine ended in grief and bloodshed, but perhaps that of her


daughter will be more serene. Indeed there are many similarities between the first Catherine and


her daughter, although the mothers bad qualities are minimized in the younger Cathy.


Although Cathy appears to display more Linton characteristics than Earnshaw ones, her desire to


explore the wilderness outside of the Granges park links her strongly to the wild, Wuthering


Heights clan. Her sauciness also reminds the reader of her mother, as does her aristocratic


unwillingness to be related to Hareton (just as Catherine thought it would degrade her to marry


Heathcliff, who was at the time very much like Hareton).


Chapter 1, Summary


Isabella died, and Edgar returned home with his half-orphaned nephew, Linton, a pale, delicate,


effeminate, boy, with a sickly peevishness in his appearance. Cathy was excited to see her


cousin, and took to babying him when she saw that he was sickly and childish. That very evening,


Joseph came and demanded the child for Heathcliff ­ he was after all his son. Ellen told him Edgar


was asleep, but he went into his room and insisted on being given Linton. Edgar wished to keep


Linton at the Grange, but could not legally claim him, so he could only put it off till the next


morning.


Analysis


The contrast between Cathy and her cousin Linton is very strong she is energetic and


warm-hearted, whereas he is limp and parasitic. It is interesting to see how Bront� distributes


conventionally masculine and feminine characteristics among her characters without regard for


gender. Linton is pointedly described as being delicate, with fine flaxen hair even lighter than


Cathys he is the helpless lady of the two, who cries when he doesnt get his way, and allows


himself to be courted by his female cousin.


Chapter 0, Summary


The next morning, Ellen woke Linton early and took him over to Wuthering Heights, promising


dishonestly that it was only for a little while. He was surprised to hear he had a father, since


Isabella had never spoken of Heathcliff. When they arrived there, Heathcliff and Joseph expressed


their contempt for the delicate boy, and Heathcliff told him that his mother was a wicked slut


not to tell him about his father. Ellen asked Heathcliff to be kind to the boy, and he said that he


would indeed have him carefully tended, mostly because Linton was heir to the Grange, so he


wanted him to live at least until Edgar was dead and he inherited. So when Linton refused to eat


the homely oatmeal Joseph offered him, Heathcliff ordered that he be given some toast or


something instead. When Ellen left, Linton cried for her not to leave him there.


Analysis


Bront�s novel is full of innocent children who are abandoned into a cold and unfriendly world


Heathcliff as an orphan in Liverpool, Hindley sent away to college, Heathcliff and Cathy again at


Earnshaws death, Hareton, Linton, Cathy Linton at her fathers death... The effect of this is that


each character, no matter how ruthless and cruel he or she may be, contains at their core the same


wish for love and the same loneliness as their former childlike selves. We are never able to judge


any character entirely objectively because we know this. Linton is a particularly interesting


example of this because he is unpleasant, even as a child, yet one can only pity him for being


abruptly introduced to an unloving father and a home where everyone despises him.


Chapter 1, Summary


Cathy missed her cousin when she woke up that morning, but time made her forget him. Linton


grew up to be a selfish and disagreeable boy, continually complaining about his health. On Cathys


sixteenth birthday she and Ellen went out on the moors, and strayed onto Heathcliffs land, where


he found them. He invited them to come to Wuthering Heights, telling Ellen that he wanted


Linton and Cathy to marry so he would be doubly sure of inheriting the Grange. Cathy was glad


to see her cousin, though she was somewhat taken back by his invalidish behavior. Hareton, at


Heathcliffs request, showed her around the farm, though he was shy of her and she teased him


unkindly. Linton mocked his ignorance also, showing himself to be mean-spirited.


Later Cathy told her father where she had been, and asked him why he had not allowed the


cousins to see each other (Heathcliff had told her that Edgar was still angry at him because he


thought him too poor to marry Isabella). Edgar told her of Heathcliffs wickedness, and forbade


her to return to Wuthering Heights. She was unhappy, and began a secret correspondence with


Linton. By the time Ellen discovered it, they were writing love letters ­ affected ones on Lintons


part. Ellen confronted Cathy and burned the letters, saying she would tell her father if she


continued.


Analysis


The issue of trespassing is important in this chapter, and recalls the scene in chapter 6, where


Cathy Earnshaw and Heathcliff are caught on the Lintons land. This chapter is almost an


inversion of the other one, especially considering that this Cathy will marry Linton, just as the


earlier Cathy married Edgar. In a static world, everyone stays on their own property and the


marriages that result from trespassing would not take place. The emphasis on land and privacy


might be taken for a metaphor for more emotional intimacy in order for two people to become


close, one must in some way trespass. On the other hand, the marriages that result from


trespassing are unhappy, while that which results from exploration (see Cathy Lintons first


meeting with Hareton in chapter 18) are happy. The essential point, of course, is that the


definition of trespassing versus innocent exploration depends entirely on the attitude taken by the


people whose lands are being entered.


Often in literature, land and women are identified with one another, so that trespassing could be


taken for a metaphor for sex. This hardly seems to be the case in Wuthering Heights Linton and


Edgar remain passively in their places while their future wives come to see them. This is coherent


with the general identification of the male Lintons with female characteristics. Isabella, both


biologically female and Lintonishly feminine, meets Heathcliff when he unwelcomedly intrudes at


the Grange.


Chapter , Summary


That fall Edgar caught a cold which confined him to the house all winter. Cathy grew sadder after


the end of her little romance, and told Ellen that she was afraid of being alone when her father and


Ellen were dead. Taking a walk, Cathy ended up briefly stranded outside of the wall of the park,


when Heathcliff rode by. He told her that Linton was dying of a broken heart, and that she would


visit him if she were kind. Ellen told her that Heathcliff was probably lying and couldnt be trusted,


but the next day she was persuaded to accompany Cathy to Wuthering Heights.


Analysis


See the analysis of chapter 0 for a discussion of children left alone in the world ­ Cathy Linton is


not the only one to fear a parents death, nor is her fear unjustified. In her case, she is particularly


vulnerable because, as a girl, she will not inherit her fathers estate her fathers nephew Linton


will. This is a result not of Edgars lack of regard for his daughter, but of legal conventions.


Emily Bront� had good reasons to be especially conscious of the position of orphaned children


although her father outlived her, her mother died when she was very young (like Cathys) and her


older sister Maria who took the place of the mother died in childhood of tuberculosis. See chapter


1 for further evidence of the importance of abandoned children in her delirium Catherine


remembers a nest of baby birds who died of starvation (little skeletons) after Heathcliff caught


their mother. She had been greatly grieved by the sight and made Heathcliff promise never to kill


a mother bird again. This may actually be the key to Emily Bront�s continual emphasis on that


theme she was deeply familiar with the natural world, in which orphaned baby animals stand next


to no chance of survival.


Chapter , Summary


Cathy and Ellen heard a peevish voice calling Joseph for more hot coals for the fire; they went


in to see Linton, who greeted them rather ungraciously No ­ dont kiss me. It takes my breath ­


dear me! He complained that writing to her had been very tiring, and that the servants didnt take


care of him as they ought, and that he hated them. He said that he wished she would marry him,


because wives always loved their husbands, upon which she answered that they did not always do


so. Her father had told her that Isabella had not loved Heathcliff. Linton was angry and answered


that Catherines mother hadnt loved her father, but Heathcliff. She pushed his chair and he


coughed for a long time, for which she was very sorry. He took advantage of her regret and


bullied her like a true hypochondriac, and made her promise to return the next day.


When Cathy and Ellen were on their way home, Ellen expressed her disapproval of Linton and


said he would die young ­ small loss. Cathy should on no account marry him. Cathy was not so


sure he would die, and was much more friendly toward him.


Ellen caught a cold and was confined to her room. Cathy spent almost all her time taking care of


her and Edgar, but she was free in the evenings then, as Ellen later found out, she visited Linton.


Analysis


In this chapter Bront� explores the intersections between love and power to what extent does


Linton want Cathy to love him freely, and to what extent does he want to have husbandly control


over her? It would appear that for him, love is just another form of control he uses Cathys love


for him to make her do whatever he likes, without any consideration for her own happiness. Is this


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