Alyssa Ottman
Fong Kuo
Rachel Gruenwald
Period 5
Wuthering Heights Giant RRS
Title: Wuthering Heights
Publication Date: First published in 1996 from the unabridged text published in 1847.
Author: Emily Brontë
Nationality: English
Birth/ Death dates: July 30th, 1818- December 19, 1848
Distinguishing Traits of Author:
On July 30th, 1818, Emily Jane Brontë was born into a family of three sisters and one brother. In
1821, Brontë’s mother passed away nearly nine months after giving birth to her younger sister,
Anne, leaving her father alone to take care of all six children. When she was six, Brontë and was
sent to Clergy Daughters’ School with her three older sisters, Maria, Elizabeth and Charlotte.
However, after Maria and Elizabeth passed away of tuberculosis in 1825, her father removed her
and Charlotte from school. While she was growing up, Emily and her other siblings would make
up stories, as all four of them were creative and had powerful imaginations. Consequently, she
and her sisters all became writers under male pseudonyms. In December of 1847, Emily Brontë
published Wuthering Heights, to which many critics did not how to respond. Nearly a year later,
Emily and her brother, Branwell, died two months apart of tuberculosis.
Setting (time & place) of Work
Wuthering Heights is where Heathcliff, Catherine and Hindley grow up with Nelly. Isabella
moves in once she marries Heathcliff. It is also where Linton moves to after his mom dies.
Catherine moves in once she marries Linton. Hareton has lived there since birth. In 1801
Lockwood describes the Heights as having “pure bracing ventilation” with a “few stunted firs at
the end the house and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way as if craving
alms of the sun” (2). The house was built “strong; the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall
and the corners defended the large jutting stones (2). After crossing the threshold, “one step
brought” anyone “into the family sitting –room without an introductory lobby or passage” which
is called “‘the house’” and “includes kitchen parlor;” however, at the Heights “the kitchen is
forced to retreat further altogether into another quarter (2). In the apartment there “were sundry
villainous old guns and a couple of horse-pistols” and “three gaudily painted canisters disposed
along its ledge” the “floors” were made of a “smooth white stone” with chairs “high backed and
primitive structures painted green one of two heavy black ones lurking in the shade” (3). On
Lockwood’s second visit he, “being unable to remove the chain” from the fence, jumps over
eventually getting to show the apartment from the front door “and after marching through a wash
house and a paved area containing a coal-shed, pump and pigeon cote” (6). At the time of
Lockwood’s visit, the first Catherine’s room contains “a chair, a clothes-press, and a large oak
case, with a square cut out near the top resembling coach windows” (13). Wuthering Heights
used to be owned and kept up by Hareton until he mortgaged the whole property to Heathcliff
who slowly let if fall apart so that when the second Catherine inherets it they decide that Joseph
will “live in the kitchen and the rest will be shut up” (247). The Heights had a negative impact on
its inhabitants and often was the setting for many brutal family conflicts. Overall the Heights was
not a very pleasant place to live and many of the inhabitants who lived there did not like each
other.
Thrushcross Grange is where Isabella and Edgar grew up with their parents, Catherine moved
in once she married Edgar, and where their daughter Catherine grew up. It was also the property
Lockwood rented from Heathcliff. In 1801, Lockwood’s room was “upstairs at Thrushcross
Grange which was “adjourned to his study” where Nelly “drew in her seat” and began telling the
story before seeing the “time- piece over the chimney” and concluding her story for the evening
(23-25, 66). During Nelly’s tale the Grange was pleasant home. Shortly after Catherine married
Edgar, the parlor had a “window whose lattice lay back against the wall and displayed beyond
the gardens trees and the wild green park, the valley of Gimmerton with a long line of mist
winding nearly to its top (for that runs from the marshes joins a beck which follows the bend of
the glen)” (68-69). The Heights “rose above this silvery vapour” the old house “was invisible it
rather dips down on the other side” (69). The Grange was the pleasant place to be, more up kept,
and altogether far nicer than the Heights, changing the characters positively when they moved in.
Overall the Grange was a very happy, positive environment, where everyone truly cared for the
other inhabitants.
Brief Plot Synopsis
Exposition- Lockwood runs away from his previous mistakes and decides to rent Thrushcross
Grange for year from Heathcliff. During his first visit he gets attacked by the dogs because of his
teasing and thinks he creates a friendship with Heathcliff. Even though he has been told he is not
welcome to come back, Lockwood makes a second trip the next day. When he is there, he meets
Mrs. Heathcliff and Hareton who he mistakes for Heathcliff’s wife and a servant, and gets
offended when no one takes a liking to him. Due to the snow he is unable to return home that
night without a guide so, Zillah lets him into Catherine’s room to spend the night even though it
is against Heathcliff’s orders. Lockwood discovers Catherine’s journals with her name written
next to Heathcliff, Linton and her madden name Earnshaw. Lockwood is disturbed by what he
thinks is a branch hitting the window and deciding to stop it knocks his “knuckles through the
glass and stretching an arm out to seize the” branch but instead his “fingers closed on the fingers
of a little ice cold hand” which belongs to Catherine Linton saying she has come home and
wants to come inside (7-18). Lockwood yells waking Heathcliff who tells Lockwood to go into
his room and once he has left proceeds to beg Catherine to come back and haunt him. Lockwood
walks to in the yard until morning and he can get a guide to return to the Grange, where he
appears wet and sick, enticing Nelly to tell him all about the inhabitants of the Heights and how
they came to be the way they are prompted by his curiosity from the visit.
Rising Action- Nelly tells Lockwood that when Mr. Earnshaw returned from the his trip to
Liverpool he brought back an orphaned Gypsy boy who they named Heathcliff. Mr. Earnshaw
took to him which results in Hindley, his biological son, beating Heathcliff up, which causes Mr.
Earnshaw to take Heathcliff even more. Catherine and Heathcliff became close and Hindley
hated Heathcliff. Two years later their mother died and they contracted the measles which left
Nelly to care for Heathcliff who “was dangerously sick” (27). Hindley left and once Mr.
Earnshaw began to take ill Catherine began misbehaving and provoking his anger for
amusement, behaving as badly as possible. Mr. Earnshaw’s death was discovered when
Catherine went to tell him good night, after being banished upstairs Heathcliff and Catherine
spent the night comforting each other. Hindley returns home for the funeral with his wife Frances
and took over his dad’s property, forcing Heathcliff to work outside in the field and stop his
studies. Heathcliff and Catherine grew very defiant and wild and one night they both went on an
adventure and ended up at the Grange where Catherine was bitten by a dog and ends up having
to stay there and meets Isabella and Edgar Linton. Catherine returns from the Grange “after five
weeks till Christmas” and upon her return she is calmer and has learned some manners and social
ques (37). “On the morning of a fine June day” Hareton was born and Frances get very sick
before eventually dying and sending Hindley into a cycle of abusive behavior and drinking (46).
Edgar comes to visit Catherine often without Hindley there, and on one occasion Catherine gets
mad that Nelly won’t leave them alone and shakes Hareton out of anger and slaps Edgar who
leaves the house for a moment before rushing back in. After Hindley returns to the Grange he
finds Nelly in the kitchen trying to hide Hareton and picks him up “carried him upstairs and
lifted him over the banister” and eventually falls into the arm of Heathcliff below (54). That
night in the kitchen Catherine comes in and tells Nelly that Edgar asked her to marry him but she
loves Heathcliff but cannot marry him because it would degrade her to do so, not knowing that
Heathcliff heard her say this. Having heard Catherine Heathcliff runs away and Catherine tires to
find him ending up getting wet in the rain and gets sick and delirious. Eventually Catherine got
better and “3 years subsequent to” Edgar’s father’s death Catherine and Edgar got married and
Nelly was persuaded to leave the Heights and Hareton to go to the Grange (65). Upon arriving at
the Grange, Edgar and Isabella got along great with Catherine until Heathcliff returned one night
from his travels. Upon catching up with Heathcliff Catherine found out that Heathcliff was going
to the Heights and was going to live there having made money Hindley mortgaged the farm to
him. Heathcliff began to make visiting a regular occurrence and began to charm Isabella, causing
her to fight with Catherine and Edgar until one day when things came to a head and Heathcliff
and Edgar got into a fight. That night Catherine locks herself in her room and eventually gets
very sick Edgar, goes into his study and Isabella runs away with Heathcliff. Upon Isabella’s
arrival at the Heights she discovers Heathcliff’s true nature.
Climax- Several months after marrying Isabella, Heathcliff visits Catherine when Edgar is out
finding out from Nelly’s visit that Catherine is sick. Catherine is delirious during Heathcliff’s
visit and says she “shall not be at peace” saying that she is “dying for” the wrong he has done to
Heathcliff (118-119). During their conversation she fainted and Heathcliff left her to be taken
care of. That night Catherine had a baby girl that Edgar later named Catherine after the first
Catherine died in childbirth. Nelly went out the garden where Heathcliff was waiting and told
him that Catherine had died which later prompted him to yell for Catherine to “haunt” him
“then” since she said he murdered her (124). Nelly sat up with the baby Cathy when Isabella
came running from the Height, pregnant in hardly appropriate attire for the weather, with several
cuts. She explains that she was able to escape since Heathcliff had beaten Hindley who refused
to open the door and attempted to kill Heathcliff. Isabella left later that night after telling Nelly
and later gave birth to a baby boy she named Linton. Hindley died from his excessive drinking
and Edgar tried to get Hareton to go to the Grange however Heathcliff would not let that happen.
Thirteen years after Linton was born, Isabella died and Edgar went to collect Linton and bring
him back to the Grange. However, since her father was out of town Catherine decides to go
exploring and ends up at the Heights where she unknowingly lets them know that Edgar was
going to retrieve Linton. She also thinks that Hareton is a servant. Heathcliff forces Linton to go
back with him to the Heights, where he proceeds to educate him and several years later runs into
Catherine and Nelly with Linton. The two reconnect and send letters to each other until Nelly
intercepts them, aware of Heathcliff’s plan to have Linton marry Catherine so Heathcliff would
get the Linton property. Sometime later Heathcliff calls on the Grange and insists that Linton is
dying from a broken heart, and that starts the visits to the Heights. Edgar does not approve,
however, as he gets sicker he begins to think that Linton is more like himself and less like
Heathcliff due to the letter correspondence between the two due to their weak state and being
unable to visit the other. As both Linton and Edgar’s health begin to fail drastically, Heathcliff
tricks Nelly and Catherine into going inside where he imprisons them and tells them that they
can leave in the morning once Linton and Catherine and have married and take Linton with them
to the Grange. However, Heathcliff does not keep his promise, separating Catherine and Nelly
from each other and further detaining them.
Falling Action- During Nelly’s imprisonment at the Heights in Zillah’s chamber, Hareton brings
her food for five days, before Zillah returns and finds her in her chambers saying that they were
rumored to have been “sunk in the Blackhorse marsh” (204). Having been released from her
prison Nelly rushes into the Heights to hear about Catherine finding Linton who insists that
Catherine is not allowed to leave having been told by Heathcliff that Catherine “hates” him “and
wants” him “to die” so “that she may have” his “money” (205). Before her departure Nelly tries
to get Linton to help set Catherine free and get him to realize that Heathcliff is lying to him
however she doesn’t make much progress. Nelly rushes back the Grange where she tells Edgar
Catherine is okay and will be there soon, before explaining why they were absent for so long.
Edgar decides to call for the lawyers to change his will in order to put the money into a trust for
Catherine so Heathcliff would not be able to get to it however the lawyer did not show up being
in business with Heathcliff. Catherine soon made her escape thanks to Linton’s annoyance with
her, causing him to leave the door unlocked so she should climb out her mother’s bedroom
window and upon her return her father died shortly afterwards. After the funeral Heathcliff came
to collect Catherine from the Grange telling her Linton was her problem now, and that he was
“seeking a tenant for the Grange” Catherine got angry with Heathcliff and yells “you have
nobody to love you; however miserable you make us, we shall still have the revenge of thinking
that your cruelty arises from your greatest misery” (210-211). While Catherine went and got her
things Heathcliff explains to Nelly that he had the side of the first Catherine’s casket removed on
the side he would be buried on so that they could be together in death since he bribed the grave
digger to do the same for him. After Catherine returns to the Heights Nelly has no contact with
her and discovers through Zillah that Catherine nursed Linton from when she got there to his
death and was denied the doctor she requested upon seeing his condition and after his death how
Catherine butts heads with the other inhabitants. After Nelly finishes her tale Lockwood decides
to pay a visit to the Heights with a letter from Nelly for Catherine and discovers the conflict for
reading between Catherine and Hareton. Lockwood makes the decision to go back to city life and
leave the Heights and Grange.
Resolution- Lockwood returns in September of 1802 to check up on what happened to the
inhabitants of Wuthering Heights to discover Nelly has moved from the Grange back to
Wuthering Heights. He finds “both doors and lattices were open” when he visits the Heights and
a happy cheerful mood of the inhabitants there (225). Lockwood talks with Nelly to find out how
such a change had occurred. Nelly explains she went to the Height 2 weeks after Lockwood left,
being tasked with keeping Catherine out of Heathcliff’s way which worked for a while until she
grew tired of this and struck up an argument with Harenton. Eventually Catherine apologizes by
wrapping up a book, leaving it for Hareton and telling him she would teach him how to read. The
two struck up a friendship and once Heathcliff became aware of this originally he became angry
but seeing the first Catherine in them both he refrained from physically attacking them and just
let them be. After ignoring Catherine and Hareton for a while, Nelly heard Heathcliff leave
during an April night and return home the next morning after breakfast. From this till his death
Heathcliff never ate and spent most of his time walking around outside. On the night of his death
Nelly found Heathcliff in the first Catherine’s room with no candle or fire. In the morning Nelly
found him lying on the bed “his face and throat washed with rain” everything dripping wet with
“one hand that rested on the sill” and “no blood trickled from the broken skin” (246). No one
knew what Heathcliff actually died from, he was buried next the first Catherine and all of
Heathcliff’s estate went to the second Catherine. There are some rumors going around that
Heathcliff and Catherine were wandering around the moors as ghosts. Lockwood leaves with the
knowledge that Hareton and Catherine plan to get married and move to the Grange afterwards
leaving just Joseph to care for the Heights.
Characters
Heathcliff, the main antihero of the story, is despised by most of the characters. His evil nature
and attitude earned his title as an "unreclaimed creature, without refinement", and the plot of
story is driven by his actions of revenge (479). Heathcliff's character is interesting due to the
contrasting emotions of love and hatred that dictate his actions. His intense love for Catherine
ironically becomes the main source of his torment, and Heathcliff's tyrannical rage against the
inhabitants of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights is feared across the two households.
Heathcliff dies a man of hate and longing, with no closure after Catherine's death, and all the
lives he has ruined through manipulation, violence, and abuse die with him.
Linton Heathcliff, Cathy's cousin and Heathcliff's son, is a small, frail boy who heavily
resembles his uncle, Edgar. Linton becomes afflicted with consumption and requires aid
throughout his life at the Heights. Because of his attitude and influence from Heathcliff, Linton
becomes "a heartless selfish boy" and has no regard for the well-being of Cathy and Nelly after
their imprisonment (611). Although he becomes the focus of Cathy's adoration, Linton soon
becomes full of terror from Heathcliff's beatings and becomes interested in no one except
himself. His love for Cathy is passionate but short-sighted and this relationship is exploited by
Heathcliff to further his plan of revenge.
Edgar Linton, the son of the Lintons, is Catherine's husband and the father of young Cathy. He
is married to Catherine who wanted him just because he "is handsome, and young, and cheerful,
and rich", yet Catherine truly loved Heathcliff the most (463). Because of this predicament,
much of the conflict arises from Heathcliff and Edgar facing off for Catherine's love and for the
property of their children and the houses. Edgar represents the higher-classed citizens of
England, as he comes from a rich background of the Lintons. His own social status validates
Catherines, and he tries his best to shield Cathy and his sister, Isabella from Heathcliff's evil
plans.
Nelly Dean, the narrator, is a servant working at Wuthering Heights and also sometimes
Thrushcross Grange. Even though she is a servant, she is very close, as Heathcliff constantly
meets "Ellen Dean in private" and involves her in personal matters (513). Because Nelly is one
of the few members of the family who treats Heathcliff humanely, she is entrusted in many of his
secrets and affairs. Nelly's inclusion into the Linton and Earnshaw family allows her perspective
to be broad and illustrate in detail the different trials and tribulations in the households to her
audience.
Lockwood is the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange in the year 1801. When he describes
Wuthering Heights, Lockwood mentions that the word “‘Wuthering’” is a “significant provincial
adjective” (4). Lockwood’s analysis of the name of the estate and use of intellectual terms
suggest that he is a well-educated man. However, some of his behavior reveals that he lacks
common sense. For example, when he first meets Heathcliff, he is told to leave his landlord’s
dogs alone. Lockwood ignores this warning and “[indulges] in winking and making faces at the
trio” of dogs, causing them to attack him (7). Additionally, Lockwood serves as the reason
behind Nelly telling the story of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. After visiting his landlord a
second time, Lockwood becomes sick and asks Nelly about Heathcliff, thus beginning his
housekeeper’s tale.
Catherine Heathcliff (Linton) is the daughter of Catherine Linton (née Earnshaw) and Edgar
Linton. The young Catherine received the best traits from both of her parents; from her father she
received “the Lintons’ fair skin and...yellow curling hair,” and she expresses the same high spirit
and “capacity for intense attachments” of her mother (185). Until she was thirteen years old,
Catherine had not left Thrushcross Grange due to her father’s desire to protect her from
Heathcliff. However, when Edgar becomes sick, Catherine discovers Wuthering Heights and reencounters her cousin, Linton, with whom she later falls in love.
Zillah becomes the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights before Nelly returns from Thrushcross
Grange. After Catherine (the daughter) marries Linton Heathcliff, she admits to Nelly that she
“thought it wrong that” the doctor “should not be sent for” when Linton is sick, she “always
[refuses] to meddle” (282). Zillah’s statement creates a contrast between the two housekeepers;
while Nelly interferes in her masters’ lives—with the intention of protecting them—Zillah
believes that it is not her job to interfere, even if it is for the sake of bettering her masters’ lives.
The other main servant of Wuthering Heights is Joseph. He is one of Hareton’s main influences
while growing up, causing Hareton to behave gruffly and to speak with a Yorkshire dialect. This
dialect causes most of what he says to be incomprehensible, such as when he talks to Hindley
and reminds him that “t’ maister nobbut just buried” (21). Most of Joseph’s dialogue in the novel
contains him scolding other characters for their behavior.
Hareton Earnshaw is Hindley and Frances Earnshaw’s son. After Hareton is born, his mother
dies, causing his father to become apathetic regarding the raising of his son. Consequently, when
Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights, Hindley allows Hareton to be influenced by both Joseph
and Heathcliff. The latter of these influences, however, uses Hareton to get revenge against
Hindley by turning him into a “brute” who has “never” been “led a single step towards virtue, or
guarded by a single precept against vice” (193). The way that Hareton is raised and influenced
by Heathcliff produces the same effect that Hindley’s treatment of Heathcliff produced, and
therefore Hareton becomes another part of Heathcliff’s unceasing quest for revenge. However,
Hareton eventually obtains the desire to change and become more educated in order to impress
his cousin, Catherine Heathcliff (née Linton). The two later fall in love, and Hareton is taught by
his love how to speak properly.
Catherine Earnshaw (Linton, the first Catherine) is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw she
falls in love with Heathcliff and they develop their special bond but she marries Edgar and gives
birth to the second Catherine before she dies. When she was a child during her father’s illness
she would “behave as badly as possible all day” and sometimes “came fondling to make it up at
night” (30). She had a wild streak that paired Heathcliff got her into a lot of trouble. Catherine
tells Nelly that her love for Edgar is “ like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it”
however her “love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath- a source of little visible
delight but necessary” (60). She insists that she is “Heathcliff- he’s always in” her “mind not as
pleasure, many more than” she is “always a pleasure to” herself” (60). Catherine sets the whole
revenge thing on Edgar in motion by marrying him and letting Heathcliff hear her tell Nelly that
it would degrade her to marry Heathcliff. Catherine serves as the one thing that keeps Heathcliff
somewhat tame in his revenge and once she is dead he seeks revenge on Edgar. She seems very
childish and wants what she wants the way she wants it and is very aware of what is good best
for her socially.
Mr. Earnshaw went on a journey to Liverpool promising to bring home a fiddle for Hindley and
whip for Catherine, and upon being gone for 3 days returned with a “dirty, ragged, black haired
child’ (26). They “christened him ‘Heathcliff’” after the child “who died in childhood” and
“petting him far above far above Cathy” and Hindley as well (27). Essentially when Mr.
Earnshaw brought Heathcliff into the family he replaced Hindley starts the detest in Hindley
toward Heathcliff. Eventually as a result of the physical harm Hindley inflicted on Heathcliff Mr.
Earnshaw took more to Heathcliff causing Heathcliff to use Mr. Earnshaw’s affection in
retaliation at Hindley. As a result of Mr. Earnshaw’s favoring of Heathcliff it puts Hindley and
Heathcliff against each other making Mr. Earnshaw responsible for the conflicts between the
two.
Hindley Earnshaw as a result of his father’s liking to Heathcliff learned “to regard his father as
an oppressor rather than a friend and Heathcliff as a usurper for his parents affections and
privileges and he grew bitter with brooding over these injuries” (27). After Frances died Hindley
only cared that he “never heard him cry, was contented as far as he regarded him” Hindley
however grew mean with his sorrow and “cursed and defied” causing the servants all to leave
except Joseph and Nelly (47). Hindley continues to take out his emotions on Heathcliff who
“delighted to witness Hindley degrading himself past redemption and becoming daily more
notable for savage sullenness and ferocity” (47). Due to his grief Hindley lost the compassion
and care for life that he did have before. His behavior hear serves as another driving factor in
Heathcliff’s plot for revenge not just against Edgar but Hindley as well by turning the son
Hindley abandoned and treats poor into a mini version of Heathcliff himself.
Frances Earnshaw appeared to be delighted “by every circumstance that took place about her,
except preparing for the burial” and upon seeing black rush into her chambers and began crying
on her bed saying “she felt so afraid of crying” (32). Her excitement about everything in the
house and Hindley not talking about where she came from suggest that Frances came from a
poor or lower class family. She has a rather childish nature; however his is loved deeply by
Hindley. So once she dies from consumption shortly after having Harenton it causes Hindley to
become a uninvolved father with Harenton and a mean drunk who gambles himself into
mortgaging the farm to Heathcliff. Frances is the final straw it takes for Hindley to completely
loss it.
Symbol
Black: The color black is used to emphasize Heathcliff’s personality and the contrasts that are
made to his personality at the end of his life. As Heathcliff’s health declines, he develops an
“unnatural...joy” that is shown “under his black brows” (317). Since the color black is often
associated with darkness, the description of Heathcliff’s eyebrows as black in this situation
contrasts with the new “joy” that he has attained; therefore, his expression becomes odd and
frightening as his countenance does not often show happiness. Additionally, the color description
contributes to his physical appearance, and reveals Heathcliff’s dark personality that is shown
throughout the majority of the novel.
Books: For Hareton Earnshaw, the biggest boundary between him and Cathy is his lack of
education. As a result, he attempts to read all her books, but is taunted and "gathered the books
and hurled them on the fire" (630). The books represent Hareton's hope and desire to please
Cathy. Because he is hurt so much by Cathy's rejection, he consequently rejects the idea of
achieving literacy. Hareton's frustration and resignation is shown when he throws the books into
the fire and destroys them, symbolically destroying his hopes to better himself for Cathy.
Lockwood’s Dreams: The first dream that Lockwood has while at Wuthering Heights represents
the effect that the house itself has on its inhabitants. In Lockwood’s dream, Reverend Jabez
Branderham continues preaching his four hundred and ninety part sermon. The extensive sermon
frustrates Lockwood, and so he speaks out against its length. When Jabez declares that the rest of
the congregation must punish Lockwood, the dreamer notes that “every man’s hand was against
his neighbour” (25). The behavior of the church-goers suggests that they are easily willing to
betray one another. Similarly, all of the characters that live in Wuthering Heights become bitter,
or change in a way that causes them to care less about the other individuals living with them. For
example, when Catherine Heathcliff (nee Linton) moves, she walks into a room “as chill as an
icicle” and tells Hareton that when she “would have given” her “life for” the Wuthering Heights
inhabitants, they all “kept off” (285-286). In her statement, Catherine suggests that when she first
arrived at Wuthering Heights, she was still a caring individual. However, the cold behavior of its
existing inhabitants caused her to become similarly cold and bitter, just as Lockwood’s first
dream suggests.
Isabella’s Springer: Isabella’s Springer symbolizes her loss of freedom, innocence, and
happiness once she runs away and marries Heathcliff. As Nelly heard the hoops of horses
galloping off and found “Isabella’s Springer Fanny suspended to a handkerchief and nearly at its
last gasp” (95). Not only does it symbolizes the loss of Isabella and her potential in life but also
serves as a message to Edgar. The Springer also was a companion of Isabella that she loved
which Heathcliff tries to kill symbolizing the desire to take away anything she loves and torture
her in place of Heathcliff.
Motif
Windows: In the novel, windows signify Heathcliff’s obsession with Catherine
Earnshaw as well as the connection between the two. When Lockwood spends the night at
Wuthering Heights, he dreams about the ghost of Catherine Linton (nee Earnshaw) who is
scraping at the window. After Lockwood tells him about this dream, Heathcliff begins
“bursting...into an uncontrollable passion of tears” and cries out for “Cathy” to “come in...once
more” (29). Heathcliff’s emotional reaction indicates that his feelings for Catherine are so strong
that his gruff demeanor becomes soft and weak. The association that is made between Catherine
and windows is repeated when Nelly finds Heathcliff after he has died. When Nelly enters his
room, she finds the “lattice” of his window open and “flapping, to and fro” (323). The state of
the widow at the moment Heathcliff dies connects back to Lockwood’s dream where Catherine is
at the window. Because Heathcliff’s obsession with Catherine never ceases throughout his
lifetime, the opened window indicates that even in death he is connected to his love.
Stormy Weather: The weather goes bad throughout the novel during times of struggle
and tragedy. On the night of Heathcliff's departure, Hindley's fight with Heathcliff, and
Heathcliff's death, the sky was "growling thunder" and there was a "violent wind, as well as
thunder" (467). The weather appears when the story takes a negative or harmful turn towards the
characters. Each storm reflects the emotional state of the people and represent the turmoil present
in their lives. Because these storms appear throughout many tragedies in the poem, its recurring
image warns the audience about the impending plot development ahead.
Weather: Throughout the novel, weather is used to reflect the mood of various
occurrences. For example, the night in which Lockwood dreams of Catherine Earnshaw’s ghost
is characterized by the “sky and hills” which “[mingle] in one bitter whirl of wind and
suffocating snow” (15). While the weather also serves as a reason for Lockwood to remain at
Wuthering Heights for the night, words such as “bitter” and “suffocating” help to create a dark
and gloomy mood that emphasize the dreary nature of Lockwood’s dreams. In contrast, as
Heathcliff—the sole negative force of Wuthering Heights—is dying, the “weather” is “sweet and
warm” (315). Although the calming and gentle weather is a contrast to the idea of death, the end
of Heathcliff’s life is a positive effect on Wuthering Heights and on the other individuals who
live there. Therefore, the weather—instead of directly reflecting the dark nature of death—
reveals the joy of freedom that will come from the oppressive Heathcliff’s death.
Dogs: Many characters have dogs in the story. Heathcliff has many dogs, Cathy has two
dogs, Isabella owns a small puppy, and Hareton is seen "hanging a litter of puppies" in
Wuthering Heights (535). Dogs recur throughout the story to evoke images of obedience. Since
dogs are seen as close companions to their masters, they are viewed as powerless in the face of
their human counterparts. Heathcliff treats his subjects like dogs and wishes to have power over
all of his enemies. Dogs are seen as animals as well, and their repeated appearance add to
Heathcliff's primal qualities and wild actions.
Archetype
The Betrayal: In the novel, the archetypal situation of a betrayal is used in order to further
characterize Linton Heathcliff. When Linton convinces Catherine Linton (the daughter) and
Nelly to enter Wuthering Heights, Nelly notes that the pitiable fears that he had shown to bring
the women inside immediately disappear. However, as she notices this, she realizes that Linton
had been convinced to betray her and Catherine “by an awful visitation of wrath if he failed in
decoying [them] there” (263). Linton’s treacherous behavior reveals his lack of moral character.
Not only is he easily willing to betray his cousin, but he is willing to do so in order to protect
himself. His betrayal portrays him as a selfish man who thinks of his own good before that of
others.
The Byronic Hero: Heathcliff is a prime example of a Byronic hero. He is a "gypsy" with no
tangible background, rejected from higher classes of society, and conflicted between his love and
hatred for Catherine, as he tells Catherine he loves her but claims she "deserve this" and has
killed herself (521). Heathcliff's moody character and emotion as his greatest drive in revenge
establishes him as a Byronic hero. His rejection from most of society and seclusion by the upperclassed families such as the Lintons separate him from the norms of society. As a result,
Heathcliff is a withdrawn, conflicted, and rejected man.
The Caregiver: The second Catherine serves as the caregiver because the portion of Linton’s
life she knows him she takes care of him. Originally Catherine says that she will promise to
marry Linton when Heathcliff tells her she must after he prevents her from leaving the Heights.
Catherine begins visiting him originally after she stopping writing to him because Heathcliff tells
her Linton is “dying for” her and each time after that when she visits she ends up caring for him
typically waiting on him (171). Right after her father’s death Catherine is forced to go back the
Heights and the first thing she did was “to run upstairs” and “shut herself inside of Linton’s
room” even though he was cruel to her she asked for a doctor to come and when Heathcliff
refused she nursed him herself (214). Although she does have other character traits she mostly
spends her time caring for other from the time her father gets sick to the time Linton dies.
Allusion
The herd of possessed swine: Upon entering the Heights for the first time Lockwood encounters
the dogs and compares them to the herd of the possessed swine which serves to emphasize how
wild the dogs at the Heights are. The dogs that Lockwood teased began to attack him and when
Heathcliff came in Lockwood told him that “‘The herd of possessed could have had no worse
spirits in them than those animals of yours’” (4). This is a biblical allusion in the book of Luke
where it is said that a demon came out of a man and went into a herd of pigs that latter ran into
the lake and drowned. This emphasizes how wild and uncivilized the Heights is and even serves
as to suggest the true nature of Heathcliff when Lockwood first meets him. The wildness of the
dogs also illustrates the effect living at the Heights has and how it even changes the way the dogs
act essentially turning into dogs. This allusion allows the hidden nature of Heathcliff to be
suggested through the dogs upon their first meeting because no individual would want to rent a
house from someone as manipulative as Heathcliff if they knew about how he actually acted.
Greek Mythology: Heathcliff makes a direct allusion to Greek mythology. While describing his
efforts in destroying his enemy's lives, he describes himself as "capable of working like
Hercules" but has given up on destroying Hareton and Cathy's relationship (645). Heathcliff
alludes to Hercules, a mythological hero who has immense, superhuman strength. This allusion
allows him to illustrate the intensity and difficulty of the tasks he has overcome in order to find
his revenge. By comparing himself to Hercules, Heathcliff acknowledges that he spent immense
amounts of effort and time in his efforts. This allusion is effective in describing how tired
Heathcliff is and how his strength found to execute his vengeance is absent from Cathy and
Hareton's lives.
King Lear: The overly-dramatic personality of Lockwood is conveyed by an allusion he makes
to King Lear. While he feels insulted by Heathcliff and the other inhabitants’ behaviors,
Lockwood demands that he be allowed to leave with “incoherent threats of retaliation
that...smacked of King Lear” (18). William Shakespeare’s play King Lear that Lockwood refers
to tells the story of an old English king who goes insane after banishing his favorite daughter
whom he feels has not properly conveyed her love for him. When Lockwood alludes to King
Lear, he compares his own threats to those of the insane king who feels that he has been
betrayed. However, Lockwood feels offended by strangers while Lear’s frustration is caused by a
daughter whom he loves. The comparison, therefore, is faulty as Lockwood’s situation is not as
grave as King Lear’s. This analogy portrays Mr. Lockwood as a melodramatic and self-centered
individual.
Theme
Revenge: Heathcliff’s whole purpose in life after Catherine marries Edgar is to enact his revenge
on Edgar, he also seeks out revenge on Hindley’s past actions toward him by turning his
Harenton into a version of himself and taking the property Hindley owned. In order to fully get
his revenge on Edgar Heathcliff trapped and forced the second Catherine to marry Linton before
both Edgar and Linton died. Before Linton died had been forced to leave “the whole of his and
what had been” Catherine’s “movable property to his father” (216). Leaving Heathcliff with both
of the properties and the children of both Hindley and Frances as well as Edgar and Catherine
homeless and at the mercy of his generosity forced to work the land that their parents had owned
before him. At the time of his death Heathcliff had effectively taken over the whole of what was
he was not allowed to have. However he just didn’t do it a nice and civil manner.
Violence as a form of power: Many times, characters are faced with situations where they are
powerless. Heathcliff tries to establish his power over the other characters constantly. When he
needs to have authority over Cathy to marry Linton, to settle his feud with Edgar, or stop
Hindley from humiliating him, he commonly resorts to violence by hitting, grabbing, and
abusing his opponents. In many of these scenes, Heathcliff is powerless either due to his social
standing or personal inferiority and compensates for these weaknesses using physical means.
Hareton also uses violence to establish his power over Cathy because he is illiterate. These
examples illustrate how violence in itself is a form of authority. Those who are socially weak
commonly resort to physical domination to reassert themselves.
Supernatural: Throughout the novel there is a supernatural element which serves to keep the
first Catherine in the novel after she dies as a ghost. Lockwood is sitting in the room Zillah lead
him to when a branch keeps knocking against the window which he breaks to remove the branch
and finds his hand enclosed “on the figures of a little re-cold hand” (18). The ghost then went on
to say “ ‘let me in…I’m come home, I’d lost my way on the moor’” causing Lockwood to
eventually scream and wake Heathcliff who eventually comes down and wishes that Catherine
would come haunt him (18). After Catherine dies all Heathcliff wishes if for her to haunt him,
and she does seem to haunt the Heights especially just before Heathcliff’s death, there is even a
supernatural element when Nelly finds Heathcliff dead that suggests Catherine’s ghost’s
involvement. This adds to the idea of how tied to each other Catherine and Heathcliff are.
Class Conflict: Differences in class often bring about difficulties in relationships due to social
and lifestyle inequalities. After Hindley becomes the master of Wuthering Heights, he treats
Heathcliff like a servant by forcing him to do manual labor and by taking away his education.
This degradation causes Heathcliff to become uneducated, while his childhood playmate,
Catherine, continues to learn. One day, the two friends fight with Catherine telling Heathcliff
that his company is boring since he does not know anything. This fight indicates that the
different ways in which they were raised—with Catherine being raised as a higher class
individual and Heathcliff as a servant—and the classes that separate them have caused a rift in
their friendship.
Nature vs. Nurture: The way an individual is raised often contributes to their behavior as an
adult. As a child, Hareton Earnshaw was surrounded by the negative influence of Heathcliff who
went out of his way to degrade Hareton just as he had been degraded by Hindley, Hareton’s
father. Because of how he was raised, Hareton becomes aggressive. This behavior of his is
shown when his cousin, Catherine, makes the mistake of calling him a servant. After she does
this, Hareton grows “black as a thunder-cloud” and begins swearing at her (191). Although
Catherine’s mistake is minor, Hareton’s negative reaction to it suggests that he has been raised
around bitter mindsets that cause him to react strongly to any possible insult. Additionally,
Hareton’s behavior is defensive, indicating that he does not have a belligerent nature; instead, he
acts aggressively to protect himself rather than out of enjoyment or apathy.
Quotes
● “Were I in your place, I would frame high notions of my birth; and the thoughts of what I
was should give me courage and dignity to support the oppressions of a little farmer!”
(57).
● “…Two words would comprehend my future—death and hell: existence, after losing her
would be hell. Yet I was a fool to fancy for a moment that she valued Edgar Linton’s
attachment more than mine. If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldn’t
love as much in eighty years as I could in a day” (148).
● “…You are miserable, are you not? Lonely, like the devil, and envious like him? Nobody
loves you—nobody will cry for you when you die! I wouldn’t be you!” (277).
● “…for what is not connected with her to me? And what does not recall her? I cannot look
down to this floor, but see her features are shaped in the flags! In every cloud, in every
tree—filling the air at night, and caught by glimpses in every object by day—I am
surrounded with her image! The most ordinary faces of men and women—my own
features—mock me with a resemblance. The entire world is a dreadful collection of
memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!” (313).
● “He drove him from their company to the servants deprived him of the instructions of the
curate and insisted that he should labor out of doors instead compelling him to do so as
hard as any other lad on the farm.”(33).
● “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now so he shall never know how I love him;
and that not because he’s handsome, Nelly, because he’s more myself than I am” (59).
● “It is impossible for you to be my friend and his at the same time; I absolutely require to
know which you choose” (87).
● “Say you forgive me, Hareton, do! You can make me so happy by speaking that little
word” (231).
o
“'It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.' 'No, God won't have
the satisfaction that I shall.” (449).
o
“Treachery and violence are a just return for treachery and violence” (531).
o
“I lingered round them...and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers
for the sleepers in that quiet earth” (655).
Distinguishing traits:
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Written in a frame narrative style. The novel first begins with Lockwood’s narrative. The narrator
shifts to Nelly after Lockwood asks her about Wuthering Heights. However, because Nelly is not
present for every event she discusses, she uses Isabella’s letter and the conversations she has had
with other characters, such as Zillah, to complete her story.
The novel contains many comparisons. The two main comparisons, however, are between
Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, and the first generation (Catherine Earnshaw and
Heathcliff) and second generation (Catherine Linton and Hareton Earnshaw) characters.
This novel is written in a Romantic and Gothic style. Several characteristics of these two styles—
such as heightened emotions, the focus on nature, supernatural entities, and gloomy settings—can
be found in the novel.