Book Survey

Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë

General information:
Title: Wuthering Heights
Writer: Emily Brontë (1818-1848) English
First publication: the book was first published in 1847

Summary:
Chapter one
The story begins in 1801. The main character, Mr. Lockwood (I) has just returned from a visit to his new landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. Mr. Lockwood is the new tenant of Trushcross Grange. And he was rather amused with his new landlord. He believes they are much alike, for both men dislike the company of others.
And since the estate of Wuthering Heights is a very isolated one, it is the perfect place for the both of them. Wuthering heights is situated next to the moors.

When Mr. Lockwood is about to enter Wuthering Heights, he notices that the name ‘’Hareton Earnshaw “ as well as the date ‘’1500’’ are scratched above the entrance.
But he thinks it is best, not to ask Mr. Heathcliff anything about it.
Mr. Lockwood describes the furniture as nothing out of the ordinary, not at all like their owner. Mr. Heathcliff is dark-skinned, almost gypsy like, but his clothes and manners suggest that he’s a gentleman. Though his manners are not always what they ought to be.
Mr. Lockwood fancies he knows why Mr. Heathcliff is so reserved and rude at times. He believes mr. Heathcliff may have the same motives as he, before he realizes that Heathcliff may have very different motives for his behaviour. Then Mr. Lockwood contemplates about his own reasons. Some time later, while Mr. Heathcliff has gone down to the cellar, Mr. Lockwood is attacked by several dogs. And he has to call for one of the servants to break up the fight. (because Heathcliff is gone, but also because he doesn’t seem to care much for his guest) Finally the two men sit down and talk. And during their conversation Lockwood realises that Heathcliff is actually quite intelligent. Though Heatcliffs manners are anything but affectionate, Mr. Lockwood suggests to pay another visit tomorrow. Heathcliff made no reply, and did certainly not give an invitation. Still Lockwood decides to return tomorrow to have another talk with the man who made him look friendly in comparison.

Chapter two
The next day is cold and wet. And Lockwood has half a mind of spending the day by the fireplace instead of going out and facing the cold to pay a visit at Wuthering Heights.
Still he goes. When he has almost reached the estate, the first flakes of snow start to fall. Lockwood makes haste towards the door. And is rather angry when he finds, no one will open it. Then Joseph appears, he says Heathcliff is out and only the misses is in, and she won’t open the door. After this announcement Joseph leaves, and Lockwood tries the door again. A few minutes later a young man appears through the snow and lets Lockwood in.
Inside he finds a young woman who seems to be ignoring him completely. Lockwood tries to persuade her to have a conversation with him, but she will have none.
She does make him some tea, and while doing so, Lockwood observes her.
He notices how young and beautiful she is, and if only her expression would be a little less embittered, she would certainly have been irresistible. The young men who led Mr. Lockwood in, joins them. He’s not exactly what you’d call a gentleman, he’s rude and vulgar. Neither one of them seems very happy to have Lockwood sitting by the fireplace. Finally Heathcliff returns home, he too is annoyed at the sight of Mr. Lockwood sitting by the fire. He notices and asks Heathcliff for a guide home, since the snow has made the paths unrecognizable. Heathcliff refuses to offer him one. And so Lockwood is forced to stay for dinner. During the meal he finds out that the young woman is not Mr. Heatcliff’s wife but his daughter in law. And that the young man is not his son, but a boy called Hareton Earnshaw. It’s getting late, and Lockwood implies that going home is quite impossible, and that he will need to spend the night at Wuthering Heights. They all ignore him.
He tries to apply to Mrs. Heathcliff for help, but she can’t help him. There’s no guest bedroom. And when Lockwood suggest that, in that case, he can also sleep by the fire, Mr Heathcliff answers that would be inappropriate, because he cannot guard the house from him. That’s about as much as Lockwood can take, and he decides to leave by himself.

Snatching a lantern out of Jospeh’s hands and promising to return it tomorrow he leaves.
But Joseph sends the dogs after him. Lockwood is bitten several times, and none of the others bother to break up the fight. Until the maidservant does so and leads Lockwood back into the house. In this weakened state, Lockwood is now forced to spend the night at Wuthering Heights.

Chapter three
Lockwood is led upstairs into a mysterious room.
It’s obvious that the room is hardly ever used. Zillah the maidservant can only tell him that the master doesn’t like people staying in this room, but cannot give him the reason.
Lockwood examines the room and finds names scratched into the wood: Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Heathcliff, Catherine Linton. Curious of the these names, Lockwood is unable to sleep and examines the books on the shelf. They all belong to Catherine Earnshaw, and are full of writings like a diary. Mr. Lockwood begins to read. The first one he reads describes the cruelty of Hindley, Catherine's older brother. Lockwood starts to doze. He has a rather strange dream. And is disorientated when he wakes up. Then he realizes it was only a branch tapping on the glass that woke him up. He tries to open the window to make the tapping stop, but breaks the glass. He reaches out to grab the tree and grabs a small cold hand instead. It would not let go, and the hand's owner, a child calling herself Catherine Linton, begs to be let inside. Lockwood refuses to let her in, and finally tricks her into letting go. He piles books before the window, trying to prevent her from getting in. when the books begin to move, and the girl keeps shouting, Lockwood screams in terror.
His scream wakes up the rest of the house, and Heathcliff bursts into the room, annoyed and angry to find Lockwood there. Angrily Lockwood tells Heathcliff about his weird dream and the nasty little ghost called Catherine Linton. Then he leaves the room, and as he is leaving, he sees Heathcliff throw open the window and call for the ghost to return.
It is already early in the morning, and Lockwood decides to leave immediately after breakfast.

Chapter four
His walk in the snow has made Mr. Lockwood ill. And so he’s forced to stay home the next day. He asks his maid, Nelly Dean, to sit with him and talk.
Mrs. Dean tells him she has lived at the Grange for eighteen years, since her mistress married and moved into the house. When her mistress died, she remained as housekeeper. Lockwood thinks he would like to hear some stories about his landlord, and the beautiful Mrs. Heathcliff, so he asks Mrs. Dean about Mr. Heathcliff's past. She agrees to tell it. She knows everything except where he came from, or who his parents were. Heathcliff, a small orphan child at the time, was brought to the Earnshaws by Mr. Earnshaw. He had no name and so they named him Heathcliff. The child soon made friends with Catherine but Hindley hated him. Mr. Earnshaw made Heathcliff his favourite. And when Heathcliff discovered that, he started taking advantage of his position. No one at the time realises what his true character is.

Chapter five
Mr. Earnshaw becomes ill, and he’s no longer able to bear Hindley’s attacks on Heathcliff.

So Hindley is send off to college in the hope that it would improve his behaviour.
Still, there is no peace in the house, for Joseph and Catherine have arguments all the time.
Joseph uses the Bible, whenever and however he pleases to praise himself and condemn all others, much to Catherine’s annoyance.
Mr. Earnshaw however, is easily persuaded by Joseph when he tells him about the horrible things Catherine and Heatcliff have done. Mr. Earnshaw is a rather firm and serious man, and Catherine’s wild behaviour makes him angry. He is convinced that she could be a sweet child if she wanted to. Instead she likes to annoy everyone. But she always returns to him at night, begging him for forgiveness, which he cannot give her.
One night, Mr. Earnshaw dies. He passes quietly, and they first think him asleep. It is Catherine who realizes he is dead, and she immediately searches for Heathcliff to console him imagining a beautiful heaven for her father.

Chapter six
Hindley returns for the funeral, taking his wife, Frances, with him.
Frances is a very cheerful and happy lady, accept that she’s terrified of dying or catching a disease. At first she’s very nice to Catherine, but she soon grows tired of her and becomes very disagreeable. Hindley was rather hard on his sister and her friend. He sends Heathcliff to work in the fields, and puts an end to his education. Catherine teaches Heathcliff, what she learns. And they run off together to explore the moors. One night, the two of them sneak off to Trushcross Grange, to see if the Linton children (inhabitants of Trushcross Grange at the time) were also forced to spend their Sunday evenings in prayer. They get caught while looking in, and a dog gets hold of Catherine’s leg. When the servants realize it is only a small child they bring both Heathcliff and Catherine in. But Heathcliff gets thrown out, a little later, because of his cursing and swearing all the time. Catherine, however is attended to with the utmost civility. They take very good care of her and she’s even invited to spend the night. While Heathcliff is forced to return to Wuthering Heights alone and face the harsh punishment Hindley will no doubt have in mind for him. Hindley chose not to beat Heathcliff as a punishment but to forbid him and Catherine from speaking to each other altogether. If they were to ignore this interdiction he’d throw Heathcliff out.

Chapter seven:
Catherine stayed at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks, until Christmas.

When she returned home, she was a very different young woman. She was wearing nice clothes and her manners had greatly improved. Heathcliff, on the other hand, had grown more dirty and unsavoury in Catherine’s absence, and he was very reluctant to face his old friend. Catherine was amazed at how dirty he looked, and when he caught her looking down her own spotless clothes, he turned away from her angrily.
The Lintons were invited to visit the next day, and agreed only, on the condition that ‘that vulgar boy’ would be kept away from their children. Hindley happily obliged.
Despite this, Nelly helps Heathcliff clean himself up to look more presentable to the party.
She sends him out to join them, but Hindley sends him back to the kitchen immediately. Edgar Linton, however, saw him and made a joke about his hair. This made Heathcliff angry and he took a pan of hot apple sauce and threw it in Edgar’s face. Edgar began to cry and Hindley shut Heathcliff upstairs. Catherine is torn between her friendship with Edgar and her loyalty to Heathcliff. She’s forced however to enter into the party. But she finds time to sneak upstairs and visit Heathcliff. She makes Nelly bring him down and give him some food. This is where Mrs. Dean interrupts her story, expressing the concern that she’s boring Lockwood with her longwinded talking. Lockwood assures her this is not the case and she agrees to continue her story with the summer of 1778, nearly twenty-three years ago.

Chapter eight:
In June 1778, Frances gave birth to Hareton. The doctor was concerned with her health and said she may not survive. She had been ill for a long time, and he didn’t expect her to last beyond winter. Hindley wouldn’t believe the doctor, he was very fond of his wife and couldn’t bear the thought of life without her. nevertheless, Frances died, and Hindley was broken at her loss. He ignored his son and became an alcoholic. He treated his servants so badly that after a while, all the servants, except for Nelly and Joseph left. He treated Heathcliff worse of all, and Nelly thought she could see evil in the boy.
Wuthering Heigths got a very bad reputation, and guests would think twice before calling there. Edgar Linton was the only one who still called at the Heights. He came to visit Catherine, who is fifteen at this time. despite her association with Edgar Linton, Catherine did remain loyal to Heathcliff. She always tried to keep them apart when Edgar visited, because she knew Heathcliff would only criticize Edgar. But Edgar was falling in love with her. One day there’s trouble because Catherine has invited Edgar over, and Nelly refuses to leave the room, and leave Edgar and Catherine by their selves. Catherine pinched her and Nelly showed her mark to Edgar. In a rage, Catherine shook Hareton, who sort of walked into the argument. Shocked Edgar pulled the child from her, and she hurt him.
He starts to leave and Catherine begins to cry, unable to leave her like this, he consoles her.
When Nelly entered again later, they had pronounced themselves lovers. Edgar quickly left to avoid Hindley. Nelly wisely removed the bullets from Hindley’s gun to prevent him from doing anything stupid in his drunken state.

Chapter nine:
Hindley came home drunk. He saw Hareton trying to hide from him, and that made him furious. Nelly protected the child and Hindley threatened to stab her, the knife already in his hand. He grabbed Hareton and carried him upstairs. Hareton jumped out of his fathers arms.
Hindley tried to approach the child again, but Nelly said everyone hates him, and he should not touch the child again. He threatened Heathcliff, and drank some more, to Nelly's dismay.

Nelly was singing to Hareton to calm him down, when Catherine came in. she was hoping she could talk to Nelly. Because she wanted her advice. Edgar had asked her to marry him and she had said yes. But she was not really sure whether she’d made the right choice, surely Edgar was the most responsible choice, but not the most sensible. She told Nelly that it would probably degrade her to marry Heathcliff now, then confessed that she loved and that she thought their souls alike. Heathcliff stood outside the room listening to the conversation, but he left right after he had heard Catherine say marrying him would degrade him, and did not wait to hear the rest. Catherine was very anxious that Heathcliff would not hear what she’d said because she doesn’t know how he feels about her. At dinner, Heathcliff was still missing. And when Nelly told Catherine that he might have heard some of the things she’d said, she immediately went looking for him in panic. He was gone, and Catherine stayed outside looking for him despite a violent thunderstorm. She stayed up in her wet clothes, and caught a cold. She was very ill but she recovered and she married Edgar. They moved to the Grange, taking Nelly with them. At this point, Mrs. Dean sees how late it is, and tells Mr. Lockwood she will continue her story the next day.

Chapter ten:
Mrs. Dean returned the next morning and continued her story.
Life went very well for the newly weds. That was until, the day Heathcliff returned.
He seemed a completely different person, well dressed and handsome.
He wanted to speak to Catherine, and Nelly reluctantly arranged a meeting.
Edgar was very angry to hear his old rival had returned. Catherine,for her husband’s sake, pretended to be less happy to hear it then she actually was. Her husband, on his turn, did his best to appear civil when Heathcliff called at Trushcross Grange that day.
After the visit, Heathcliff returned to Wuthering Heights, where he had been invited to stay by Mr. Earnshaw. Catherine returns the visit, taking Isabella as a chaperone. Unfortunately for everyone she develops a crush on Heathcliff. And when Catherine finds out, she scolds her for liking such a terrible man. He doesn’t care for Isabella at all. Nelly confirms her that his character really is no good, but she won’t listen. The next day Heathcliff calls at the Grange, Edgar is away, and he finds only Catherine and Isabella inside. This is the first time Heathcliff learns that Isabella has feelings for him. When Isabella is out of the room, Heathcliff asks Catherine whether Isabella is heiress to the estate and when Catherine responds that she is not, they talk no more of the matter. Still, much to the dislike of Edgar and Nelly, Heathcliff’s visits increase.

Chapter eleven:
One day, Nelly felt the sudden urge to visit the Heights, and to see little Hareton, whom she had not seen for a year. When she reached the gate, she saw the boy, unfortunately for Nelly he saw her too. He began throwing rocks, cursing God and his father. Nelly ran away. And became even more determinate at Heathcliff’s wicked character. As he had managed to turn Hindley’s own son against him. Nelly was also determinate to keep Isabella far away from this man. Still, one day he came to the Grange and when he thought no one was looking, he kissed Isabella. But Nelly saw and she told Catherine, who became furious because she’d asked Heathcliff to leave Isabella alone. She and Heathcliff have an argument. Nelly also tells Edgar, he too, is furious. And gives Catherine an ultimatum. She must choose between her husband and her friend. Catherine ran from the room, and had a breathless fit. Edgar was worried, but Nelly told him Catherine was faking. At this statement, Catherine ran to her room, and stayed there, refusing to eat. Edgar did not ask about Catherine; he made sure that Isabella knew that any union with Heathcliff would separate her from her family forever.


Chapter twelve:
The following days at Trushcross Grange were everything but pleasant. Catherine remained in her room for three days. Then came out asking Nelly for some food and nagging that her husband wasn’t even missing her. She was certain she was dying, and her husband didn’t even seem to care. Nelly ignored her completely, thinking it was only another stage play.
But she soon realized it wasn’t. Catherine was actually in a very bad state. She was delusional. She asked Nelly to open a window and yelled out to Heathcliff that even if she dies, she will not rest until they are together. This drew Edgar’s attention and he hurried upstairs. Alarmed at the state of his wife he immediately send for the doctor. Who diagnoses that Catherine is very ill indeed, and may not survive. Nelly also hears that Isabella and Heathcliff have been seen together. Nelly, for fear that Isabella ran away, went to check on her, but she was not there. When Edgar heard the news, he was sad but accepted that his sister had gone willingly, and therefore he would not try to bring her home.

Chapter thirteen:
Two months passed. And they received no word from Isabella.
Catherine had had a brain fever and as a result she was changed forever. Still they all hoped for her full recovery seeing as she was pregnant. Edgar received a note from Isabella telling him that she had married Heathcliff. Edgar did not answer. Isabella’s next letter was written to Nelly. She wrote about her horrible situation at the time. No one at Wuthering Heights had been hospitable. And Heathcliff, who blamed her brother for Catherine’s fever, used her to take revenge on her brother by threatening her very badly. The letter ended with Isabella pleading that Nelly visits her at Wuthering Heights next day, and that she doesn’t tell her brother about her bad situation.

Chapter fourteen:
Nelly made her trip to Wuthering Heights alone, because Edgar refused to go with her and forgive his sister. Isabella was anxiously waiting for Nelly’s visit.
Heathcliff asked Nelly about Catherine and she replied it would be best for her if Heathcliff stayed away from her. But Heathcliff is not very willing to leave Catherine with Edgar.
Nelly and Isabella both protest that Edgar loves her and that she loves him.
But for Heathcliff this is incomprehensible. He laughs at his own marriage with Isabella.

He threatens her terribly but she stays with him, not having any other choice since her family has rejected her and she has no one else in the world.
He throws Isabella out of the room, so he and Nelly can talk. He’s determined to see Catherine, despite Nelly’s warning that the excitement might be fatal he makes her promise to deliver a letter to Catherine. At this point, Mrs Dean stops her story. Because the doctor enters to check on Lockwood. Lockwood realizes he’s very fortunate not to have fallen for Mrs Heathcliff, for she might turn out just like her mother.

Chapter fifteen:
A week has passed, and Mr Lockwood has heard all of Mrs Deans’ story and he repeats it.
Nelly returned with Heathcliff’s letter. And decided to read it to Catherine. She didn’t respond until Nelly told her the letter was Heathcliff’s. she made no reply to Nelly’s question whether he should be allowed to visit. But the question was unnecessary, Heathcliff was already waiting outside. The rest of the family had gone to church. Heathcliff came in.
He and Catherine have a passionate conversation. And she’s still in his arms when the family returns from church. Nelly urges Heathcliff to leave, but he doesn’t want to leave Catherine is this state. Then Edgar entered, he revived Catherine and Nelly made Heathcliff go.
But he waited outside by the trees, and made Nelly promise she’d bring him any news of Catherine.

Chapter sixteen:
At midnight, Catherine gives birth to a girl, two hours later Catherine dies. Never having been conscious enough to speak to anyone. Edgar was extremely sad. So was Nelly.
She went outside to tell Heathcliff, who had already guessed. He asked how she died, and if she had asked for him. But she died quietly, and was not conscious enough to ask for anyone. Furious, Heathcliff called her a liar, and shouted that, if he is the one who murdered her as she claimed, she should haunt him. because he cannot live without his life and soul, and doesn’t want to be left in an abyss where he cannot find her. Edgar decided to bury Catherine in a corner of the churchyard, where the plants of the moors almost touch the graves.

Chapter seventeen:
Summer ended. And one day while Nelly was attending to little Catherine (the baby’s name), Isabella called at Trushcross Grange. She was running away from Heathcliff. Who had become even more crazy after Catherine’s death. He had gotten into the habit of roaming the moors at night and returning only just before dawn. Then he’d shut himself up in his bedroom to pray. And returned downstairs only to leave again. Isabella moved to the south of England and gave birth to a little boy whom she named Linton. Unfortunately, Heathcliff heard about the child. But when Isabella died, she left twelve year old Linton to her brother Edgar's care. Edgar was happy to hear his sister had left her husband. Edgar rarely ever left the Grange, hoping this would be the best way to avoid meeting Heathcliff. Soon, his greatest concern was to take care of his daughter, whom he loved very much. Hindley died six months later. And Nelly was worried about Hareton who was now at Heathcliffs mercy. And was made a servant in the same house he should have been master of.


Chapter eighteen:
The twelve years that passed after Catherine’s death were the happiest of Nelly’s life.
She took care of little Cathy. She grew up to be beautiful, sweet girl, who could be bold at times. One day, Nelly had lost track of Cathy and she’d run off to Wuthering Heights.
When Nelly found her there, she was happily talking to Hareton. Who was very kind to her until she called him a servant. When one of the maids points out that Hareton is actually her cousin and not a servant. Cathy starts to cry at the thought that she should have such relatives. Hareton is rather offended at first, but then he takes pity on her and gives her a puppy to make her feel better. Nelly was happy to see that Heathcliff was not at home.
She took Cathy back home with her and made her promise not to tell her father about the visit, and not to go back there ever again. Cathy reluctantly agreed.

Chapter nineteen:
A letter arrived from Edgar informing Nelly of Isabella’s death.
He also said that he would bring her son, Linton, back with him.
Cathy was delighted at the idea of her father coming back home and his taking her cousin with him. When they arrived Cathy was very kind to Linton, her father had instructed her to do so, since he expected Linton to be unhappy for a while. But he was mistaken.
Linton could only complain a lot and was lacking manners. Edgar began to fear for the boy, since his weak health would make the Heights a very unsuitable place for him to live.
Soon his fears were conformed, for Joseph called claiming the boy.

Edgar managed to convince him to let him spend the night, promising he’d take Linton to the Heights the next day.

Chapter twenty:
The next morning, very early, Linton was taken to the Heights.
Cathy wasn’t told where her cousin went to, for fear she’d go visit him at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is annoyed to see that his son looks so much like his mother, and the three men make fun of his pale face. Linton will be well raised, but for terrible reasons. Linton is already at odds in his new home, having sent back his dinner. Nelly hoped for the best, and returned to the Grange, with Linton crying out to her as she departed.

Chapter twenty-one:
Cathy was very sad to learn that Linton was gone. But after some time she stops asking for him and he fades in her memory. A year passes. Cathy turns sixteen. And she asks Nelly to accompany her for a walk. Cathy runs ahead and out of Nelly’s sight. When she catches up with Cathy she sees Cathy’s seized by Heathcliff, for they are on his property. When Heathcliff realizes who she is, he insist that they come back with him to the Heigths so Cathy can see her cousin. Nelly reluctantly accompanies them. Heathcliff plans to have the two cousins fall in love and marry. So he can have Cathy’s inheritance when Linton dies.
They stay at Wuthering Heigths all afternoon. And when they return, Cathy talks to her father about the family. So Edgar is forced to tell her Heathcliff’s story, and he makes her promise not to go to the Heights again. Cathy is upset because Linton was expecting her the next day, and Nelly wouldn’t allow her to send a note. Still she did, and some weeks later Nelly found out that the two of them were secretly corresponding. Nelly put a quick stop to it, and burned all the letters.

Chapter twenty-two:
Early September, Mr Linton catches a violent cold and is forced to stay in bed the following winter. Cathy was very concerned with her father’s health. One day she and Nelly go out, Cathy’s feeling terrible, she’s afraid her father will die. They reach a stone wall, and Cathy climbs over. When she’s at the other side of the wall, she finds Heathcliff there. He blames Cathy for Linton’s illness and makes her feel guilty. Angrily Nelly breaks the lock on the gate, to get to the other side of the wall, and pulls Cathy away from him. Heathcliff says Cathy must visit Linton, for he himself will be away for a week. Nelly takes Cathy back home, she’s unusually silent, and Nelly knows that Heathcliff has been successful in his attempt to get her to visit. And once at home, Cathy cried and made Nelly promise to go with her to the Heights tomorrow

Chapter twenty-three:
Cathy and Nelly set out to call at Wuthering Heights.

They find Linton upstairs whining. He’s glad to see Cathy again, but somewhat held back.
At last, he and Cathy get into a fight, and when Cathy pushes him, he gets a terrible coughing fit. Cathy’s somewhat amazed, such a push would not have hurt a normal person, but feels very guilty. Linton takes advantage of this. He makes her feel even more guilty and then he makes her leave. But just when Nelly and Cathy are about to, they hear a scream, Linton has fallen to the floor. Cathy, still feeling guilty runs upstairs to take care of him, singing to calm him down. Linton is rather manipulative and Cathy falls for him. She promises him to return the next day. But she can’t because Nelly and her father have both fallen ill. So Cathy takes care of them during the day and sneaks off to Linton at night.

Chapter twenty-four:
Nelly was sick for three weeks, and very glad, to finally be able to leave her room.
She spent that evening in the library with Cathy, and she noticed that Cathy was continually looking at her watch, and seemed very eager to get Nelly to bed early. At last Cathy decided to go to bed early. Soon after that, Nelly would learn the reason. When she went to check on Cathy that night, she did not find her in her room. She watched out of the window and saw the stable boy leading Cathy’s pony. When Cathy entered her room she was surprised to find Nelly there, unfortunately for Cathy, Nelly had also guessed exactly where she had come from. And so Cathy told Nelly everything, on the condition that her father should not hear a word of it. Cathy had faithfully been visiting Linton these pas three weeks. And they had had only one argument. Cathy had implied to Linton several times that that visit would be the last, and he had begged her not to let it be. And so she returned. She was very patient with him. and bore all his whining and complaining. At the end of her story, Cathy urges Nelly not to tell her father about this. Unfortunately Mr Linton hears Nelly contemplating over the matter out loud, and he forbids any more visits to the Heights. He says Linton can visit the Grange if he wants to. But Cathy visiting Wuthering Heights is absolutely out of the question.

Chapter twenty-five:
The previous events took place last year.
Cathy did not disobey her father, and paid no more visits to the Heights.
Edgar wished that his cousin would write or visit instead, but he was most likely to sick to do so. Though Edgar did not know that. He wrote again to Linton, who answered with a written plea that the cousins might visit in a neutral spot. He even offered to meet with his uncle so he could see what kind of man he was. But Edgar’s health would not allow such a trip. And so, by his request, Linton continued writing letters. (probably written under the strict supervision of Heathcliff) By June Cathy had convinced her father to let her and Linton meet. Nelly was to act as a guardian during this visit. Edgar was happy, because he was dying and a marriage would secure Cahty’s future.

Chapter twenty-six:
Cathy and Nelly set out on their trip to meet Linton. But when they arrive at the spot, he’s not there. A messenger told them that Linton wanted them to come closer to the Heights. In fact it was only a quarter of a mile from the Heights. Linton looked very ill, much worse than last time. He was indifferent and touchy. It even appeared as if he did not want them there, but when Cathy suggested to leave he looked back to the Heights fearfully and begged them to stay a little longer. Obviously his father had planned this, and he was very eager not to annoy him or make him angry. Still, he was very quiet and fell asleep. Cathy wanted to leave, she couldn’t understand why he’d asked them there in the first place, but she promised to return next week. When she returned home, she hid from her father how disappointing and confusing the visit had been for her.


Chapter twenty-seven:
In the weeks between the two visits, Edgar got worse quickly. Cathy knew her father was dying and stayed by his side constantly. She had to be reminded that she was to visit at the Heights. Linton was at the same spot as the week before, looking rather frightened.
Cathy was annoyed to see him like that, for he had called her away from her father’s bedside.
Heathcliff soon turned up, and got Linton up to bring him inside. But Linton begged Cathy to bring him inside and she could not refuse him. Once inside, Heathcliff locked the door and insisted they’d stay for tea. Cathy demanded to leave, but Heathcliff refused to give up the key, and so they fought over it. Cathy received several blows on the head.
Then Heathcliff told her to go see Linton since they were to be married tomorrow.
Cathy begs that they shall be married that instant so she can return home and look after her beloved father. But Heathcliff, taking pleasure in the thought of Edgar suffering, firmly refuses to let her go. He locked Nelly and Cathy up, and all hopes they had of escaping were banished. The next morning, Heathcliff took Cathy. Nelly remained imprisoned, and when Hareton came with her food, she could not convince him to free her. Five days passed.

Chapter twenty-eight:
At last, Zillah came at the door, unaware of everything. She had heard that Nelly had got lost in the moors and that Heathcliff had found her and taken care of her.
Nelly told what had happened but Hareton said she was crazy, still he gave Zillah the key to let her out. When Nelly got downstairs she found Linton lying on the couch. He and Cathy were married. He answered Nelly that Cathy had been locked upstairs because she cried too much and this distressed him. Nelly had to suppress the urge to strangle the boy.
Nelly returned to the Grange quickly, afraid that Edgar may no longer be alive. Luckily she finds him, weak, but still alive. And when she gives him the account of what happened, he immediately sends some servants to go fetch Cathy, and one to fetch his lawyer, afraid as he is, that Cathy will be left penniless otherwise. The servants return without Cathy, saying that she was too ill to return with them. Nelly knows this is a lie, and she’s beginning to fear that Cathy will arrive too late, for Edgar is getting worse by the minute. Fortunately Cathy arrives at that moment. She had become so distressed that Linton agreed to let her out, and she escaped through her mother’s window. Edgar died peacefully, but without having seen the lawyer.


Chapter twenty-nine:
The night after Edgar’s funeral, Heathcliff came to the Grange to take Cathy back with him.
He scolded her for being disobedient. Her departure had made Linton think less of her and with some help of his father he was inclined to feel no love for her anymore.
Therefore Cathy’s life at Wuthering Heights would be horrible.
Nelly begged Heathcliff for Zillah’s place at Wuthering Heights but he refused and told her not to visit. He also told Nelly about his burial plans. He had bribed the gravedigger so he’d knock out the side of Catherine’s coffin and his own when they buried him. that way they could lie forever together, and Heathcliff swore this would be the only way for him to find peace. He confessed that he went crazy after Catherine died and that he had even partially dug up her coffin to feel closer to her. Until he had felt a hot breath in his neck. He was convinced that it was Catherine. He told Nelly that she had haunted him all these years, and he had felt her presence often, especially at night. After having taken Catherine’s portrait down and telling Nelly to send it over the next day, he left taking Cathy with him.

Chapter thirty:
Nelly had tried to visit Wuthering Heights once, but Joseph would not let her in.
So she had only the occasional news of Zillah to tell her how Cathy was doing.
At her first day at Wuthering Heights Cathy asked for the doctor, because Linton was very ill, but Heathcliff refused. One night she came yelling that Linton was dying. When Heathcliff finally came to see, his son was dead. Cathy stayed upstairs for two weeks after that. She would only come down, one day, when Heathcliff was gone. Only Hareton and Zillah were in. Hareton had a crush on Cathy. They looked at some books together, and Hareton made the mistake of stroking her hair. This upset her, and they had an argument.
But it is winter and therefore Cathy is forced to come down and sit by the fire with them, because it is too cold upstairs. Hareton becomes more talkative and he and Cathy have several conversations. This is were Nelly ends her story. Mr Lockwood is better and is intending to leave the Grange. He wants to ride over to Heathcliff the following day to inform him of it, and tell him that he may search for a new tenant.


Chapter thirty-one:
When Mr Lockwood arrived at Wuthering Heights that next day, Heathcliff wasn’t there.
But Hareton let him in. Cathy was there too. And Lockwood, under instructions of Nelly, tried to slip a note in her hands. Unfortunately Hareton saw what happened and took the letter threatening to show it to Heathcliff. Cathy began to cry and Hareton, feeling bad, threw the letter back at her. She read the letter but could not respond. Heathcliff had destroyed all her books. But Hareton had some hidden in his room. Cathy makes fun of that, since Hareton can’t even read them. Hareton is so annoyed with her and the fact that he can’t read (he desperately wants to learn) that he throws the books into the fire.
At that moment Heathcliff returns, and everyone, except for Mr Lockwood leaves the room.
Mr Lockwood informs Heathcliff of his intentions. Heathcliff gets angry, thinking that Mr Lockwood is cheating on him, but he quickly calms down, and invites Lockwood for dinner.
When Lockwood returns home he contemplates about Cathy, he’s interested in her, and wished there was something he could do to get her out of that horrible place.

Chapter thirty-two:
It is September 1802. Mr. Lockwood was in the neighbourhood and, impulsively decided to visit the Grange. When he gets there he asks for Nelly. But they tell him she’s not at the Grange but at the Heights. So he walks to Wuthering Heights. When he gets there he’s amazed at the change. The gate is unlocked, flowers are growing in the garden, and inside he can see a girl giving reading lessons to a boy. The boy was well-dressed and looked very handsome. The girl was Cathy. Inside he finds Nelly. He tells her he came to settle his rent with Heathcliff, but she tells him that Heathcliff died three months ago. And she continues her story. Two weeks after Mr Lockwood left, Nelly was ordered to return to the Heights.
Heathcliff wanted her to keep Cathy out of his sight. Nelly tried but Cathy was restless.

She quarrelled with Joseph and harassed Hareton. He got angry, and was confused when Cathy said that he hated her. He always took her side against Heathcliff, at great risk. She tried again to make friends with him, and when he would not shake her hand, she kissed him. Hareton hid his face. Cathy decided to give Hareton a book, and learned him to read from it.
In the days following the two of them get closer, though not without an occasional argument.

Chapter twenty-three:
That night during dinner, there was no denying that Cathy and Hareton had become very close. it annoyed Heathcliff, but it made Joseph furious. When Cathy made Hareton laugh, Heathcliff got angry and demanded Cathy would get out of his sight. Hareton advises Cathy to go, and eventually she agrees. But before she could get out of the room, Heathcliff had grabbed her, and he was about to hurt her, when he suddenly let go off her and demanded to be left alone. Once alone, Hareton asked Cathy not to confront Heathcliff like that, because, despite all his flaws Hareton cared for Heathcliff like a father. They have an argument about this, but after that is settled, they are rarely ever apart. Now, with these two in love, Heathcliff is presented with all the means of taking revenge on their parents. But he tells Nelly he no longer takes pleasure in it, and he will not destroy for nothing. Heathcliff’s behaviour is getting stranger by the day. He’s neither ill, nor in any other way dying, still he’s convinced that his torment will soon end. His constant longing to be with the dead made him sure that he would not stand living much longer. He became more quit and spoke only to himself. Nelly anxiously waited, to see how all this would turn out.

Chapter twenty-four:
Heathcliff stayed away for days, and did not eat with the rest of them.
At night he went out too, but no one knew where he went to.
One day, while Hareton and Nelly sit outside, Cathy comes out, and says she’s just seen Heathcliff looking very excited. That night he refused to eat and went out instead.
Hareton asked him what was wrong, but he answered there was nothing. Still he looked very excited, happy even. He returned later pale and with a strange smile on his lips, trembling with excitement. That evening Nelly thought she should check on him and bring him his supper. He was leaning out of the window, staring outside. When Nelly approached him, she saw his face and screamed for Joseph. She was terrified, she believed Heathcliff was some sort of ghost. The next morning he looked somewhat better, but he still refused to eat. And he scared Nelly with his fixation on an unseen person or object. He went walking late that night, and when he came home, Nelly heard him speaking Catherine’s (Earnshaw) name as if she was walking next to him. he walked into the kitchen and asked Nelly to send for his lawyer tomorrow. He was convinced he’d die quickly and wanted some things to be sorted out. The next day Heathcliff locked himself up in his room and did not come out, although his moans could be heard throughout the whole house. The next evening, Nelly noticed that Heathcliff's window was open. It was raining, and Nelly went inside to close it. Heathcliff was lying on his back, and he met Nelly with a terrible smile. His eyes were wide and vivid, but he was dead. The doctor could not tell what he had died of. Heathcliff was buried as he wished, next to his Catherine. But many of the villagers do not believe he rests there.
They claim they’ve seen him in the company of a woman.

At this point Mr Lockwood sees Cathy and Hareton walking through the gate. He envies them, because they are not afraid of anything. “together they would brave satan and all his legions’’ Cathy and Hareton are to be married on New Year’s day.
On his way back to the Grange, Mr Lockwood passes the cemetery.
And he sees the three graves, Edgar’s, Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s.
With a soft breeze blowing and the sky clear, he wonders how it can be possible for anyone not to be at peace in the world.

Title:
The title of the book is actually quite obvious. The greater part of the story takes place at Wuthering Heights, so that’s where the title comes from.

Setting:
The greater part of the story is situated at Wuthering Heights. An estate in a barren part of England, close to the moors. (at least I assume that the setting is England, since that is logical, but I’m not quite sure whether Wuthering Heights is an actual or a fictional place)
The story takes place somewhere between 1760 and 1810. But since the story is not told chronologically it’s rather hard to give specific dates, the greater part of the story is told in flashbacks. As the maid, Nelly Dean tells the story of Heathcliff’s life from his youth up till the day Lockwood asks for it. The whole story is told in flashbacks, with the exception of a few moments, where you get to know in what situation the listener and the narrator are at that moment.

Characters:
There are several important main characters in this book.

Mr. Lockdwood: he is the new tenant of Trushcross Grange. He’s the one who’s curious about Heathcliff’s story, after he has met him, and so he asks his maid for the story.
Mrs Dean / Nelly: she’s the maid at Trushcross Grange, and the one who tells Mr Lockwood Heathcliff’s story. She has worked at Wuthering Heights during Heathcliff’s youth, and has always been around him since. Therefore she’s the perfect person to tell the story.
Hindley Earnshaw: A very selfish young men in the beginning of the story, and a useless drunk up till the end. When his wife dies, he’s broken at her loss and becomes an alcoholic.
He has never been a very sensible person, but the alcohol makes him downright unbearable.
He becomes aggressive and abusive when he’s drunk. And he completely ignores his son.
Hindley is brother to Catherine Earnshaw, father to Hareton Earnshaw, and husband to Frances Earnshaw.
Frances Earnshaw: she’s Hindley’s wife. A very talkative young women. And like Hindley, rather selfish. She doesn’t care much for anyone but herself and her husband. She dies some time after giving birth to Hareton.
Hareton Earnshaw: I believe this is the most complex character in the book. And also the most sincere and honest person, despite the fact that he’s coarse. He cannot help that he’s raised like that. Hareton is the son of Hindley and Frances, though he hates his father and cannot remember his mother. Heathcliff takes care of him.
He falls in love with Cathy Heathcliff (Linton).
Catherine Earnshaw: she’s a very strange girl. Also very complex. Her behaviour is best described as cunning. She too, is a rather selfish person. Though she does care about the persons she lives with, she doesn’t quite realize she is not always the most important person in their lives. She marries Edgar Linton and they have a child, Cathy. (short for Catherine)
Heathcliff: He is the most important character in this story. He’s adopted by Mr Earnshaw, Catherine’s father, at a very young age. And he and Cahterine become close friends.

Heathcliff however appears to be a very resentful person. He is treatened very badly by Hindley. And swears, one day, he’ll take his revenge. Heathcliff is a very passionate person.
I believe his love for Catherine is sincere and passionate. But when she rejects him something inside of him snaps. And he grows into this remorseless, harsh young men, who’s main purpose in life is the take his revenge on the Earnshaw Family. At the end also, I think it’s all becoming to much for him, and he runs mad.
Edgar Linton: a very delicate young men. He falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw.
Edgar is a very sensitive person, and he makes a gentle but firm father to Cathy.
Isabella Linton: sister to Edgar. She marries Heathcliff and they have a child, named Linton.
A very sweet, but not so sensible woman. She’s raised very protectively and you notice that she’s not used to anything. She can’t really deal with situations, because she’s never had to.
Linton Heathcliff: Son to Heathcliff and Isabella.
He’s a sickly, weak young man. He looks a lot like his mother and is not at all like Heathcliff.
He complaints a lot, and if he doesn’t have a cold, then it’s something else; his back hurts, he has a headache, is tired etc. (forced by Heathcliff)he marries Cathy Linton. And dies after a short period of marriage.
Cathy Linton: she’s a very sweet young girl. She marries Linton Heathcliff. And bears all his whining. But when Linton dies and she’s forced to live with Heathcliff she becomes a solitary minded girl. Still, she defies Heathcliff as often as she dares. She falls in love with Hareton Earnshaw.
Joseph: he’s the servant (the only remaining one) at Wuthering Heigths.

He’s a grumpy, pious old man. Who likes giving everyone sermons, promising they’ll all end in hell. Except for himself of course, because he’s such a good Christian… ;)
Zillah: A servant at Wuthering Height’s. She sees a lot of suffering there but makes none of it her business.

There’s a lot of character development in this novel.
In my opinion, the persons who change most throughout the story are Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine Linton. Hareton is very crude and uncivil in the beginning but he changes because he wants Catherine to think better of him. He learns to read and he tries to improve his manners. Catherine, on the other had, changes from a very sweet girl, into an indifferent and introvert girl, but I think this might be due to Heathcliff’s treatment. She can’t be herself around him, because she’s too much like her mother and that drives Heathcliff mad.
Another sort of character development is the one that Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff go through. They simply run mad. Catherine as a result of her brain fever, and Heathcliff for several other reasons. The first blow he receives is when he hears Catherine say it could degrade her to marry him. He receives another blow when he finally returns and finds that Catherine is married to Edgar Linton. And the last and fatal blow comes when Catherine falls ill and dies. I think that’s just more than he can take. She was the love of his life and life without her seems so pointless that he must find another reason to live. Which I believe he finds in finally having his revenge on Edgar Linton. Heathcliff has always been a strange person, and mentally somewhat unstable. Nevertheless he’s very intelligent and passionate and if he had only been given the chance, he might have had a very happy life.
But I think that, and this goes for Catherine and Heathcliff, their love was just bigger than they were. It was more than they could handle, and I believe this is, what finally drove both of them mad.

Theme:
There might be several themes.
Like the supernatural, as there are ghosts in the story.
Or madness because the two main character both run mad.
But I believe the main theme in this book is love.
It’s obvious that Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff are in love. And the story is mostly about, how Heathcliff deals (or doesn’t deal) with the fact that he cannot obtain the love of his life. Also in the end there are Hareton and Cathy. And there is the love between a daughter and her father (Edgar and Cathy). As well as the love from a maid for her mistress (Nelly and Cathy).

My opinion:
I liked the book very much. I think it is a beautiful love story. But I have to say that I didn’t find the book easy to read. Partially because the story isn’t told chronologically, but also because the language used in the book isn’t always easy. For example I had great difficulty trying to understand what Joseph said, because he has this accent, and I can’t make head or tail of it. Nevertheless the story itself is beautiful, and I liked most of the characters.

Even Heathcliff, though I don’t approve of his behaviour I do understand the reason for it.
I think the writer has done a great job in describing all the characters. They are all very much alive, they all have their flaws and weaknesses, they are all human.
My favourite character is Hareton Earnshaw. He’s like Heathcliff said: “Gold put to the use of pavestones”. He is a really sweet person, and if he had been raised in different conditions he really would have become ‘gold’. But what I admire most about this character is his patience, and the fact that he remains himself, despite the way that he’s treated, he remains ‘’good’’. Even though what he has to go trough would be enough to corrupt a person for the rest of his life.
The only thing I’ve learned from this book is that there’s a great difference between how people, out of this time period, look upon their own time. I’ve read Jane Austen’s ‘’Pride and Prejudice’’ which was written in the same period, (well, approximately, there’s a time difference of 40 years… ) her book is very positive about society, while Emily’s view is much more pessimistic.