Wuthering Heights –
“The Missing Chapter” Project
In the process of writing her famous novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte lost a
chapter of her novel before it went to publication; thus the book was published without this
important chapter. Today it is your task to write this chapter and provide future readers
with the missing link in the novel.
In Chapter 9 of the novel, Heathcliff overhears Catherine say that “it would degrade me to
marry Heathcliff now,” and he slips silently out of the kitchen door and disappears for a
period of just over three years. In his absence Catherine marries Edgar Linton and moves
to Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff returns to see Catherine one final time and then is gone
forever. Upon his return, it is noted that he is a different man – handsomely dressed, tall
and broad shouldered, and seemingly wealthy and somewhat educated. Emily Bronte only
hints at where Heathcliff spent the last three years and how he came to his present
condition.
Your chapter must cover the entire three year period and offer a realistic and believable
look at his life as well as explain his decision to return to his childhood home and
Catherine. Vivid and descriptive details are expected in this chapter so that the reader is
able to grasp an understanding of Heathcliff’s character as it develops in this chapter.
While this is a creative writing assignment, you must keep in mind the character of
Heathcliff as you know him from Bronte’s work, consider carefully his mood, actions, and
personality as Bronte created him. Think of the conflicts he endured while living at
Wuthering Heights as well as the themes Bronte weaves into the storyline. Please
remember the time period is around 1778.
Paper Requirements:
1. Typed, double-spaced; use Times New Roman (12’ font)
2. Length – minimum of eight pages
3. Begin your chapter with Heathcliff slipping out the back door of the kitchen
4. If dialogue is used, follow the format established by Bronte – changing paragraphs
with each speaker and using quotation marks. See and use the novel as a guide.
5. Be sure to use one verb tense – past or present, not both.
6. You may write the chapter in third person or as Heathcliff in first person, allowing
him to narrate the chapter.
7. Create a title for your chapter, not a number.
8. Proofread carefully – spelling, punctuation, verb tense, etc.
All papers are due on the date given. If you are absent on the due date, your paper is due
to Mrs. Cannon, not the Main Office or mailbox, no later than 2:15. This project is worth
one test grade. I expect a well thought out, creative, and polished paper.