Heathcliff - An orphan brought to live
at Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff falls into an intense,
unbreakable love with Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine. After Mr. Earnshaw
dies, his resentful son Hindley abuses Heathcliff and treats him as a servant.
Because of her desire for social prominence, Catherine marries Edgar Linton
instead of Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s humiliation and misery prompt him to spend
most of the rest of his life seeking revenge on Hindley, his beloved Catherine,
and their respective children (Hareton and young Catherine). A powerful,
fierce, and often cruel man, Heathcliff acquires a fortune and uses his
extraordinary powers of will to acquire both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross
Grange, the estate of Edgar Linton.
Catherine -
The daughter of Mr. Earnshaw and his wife, Catherine falls powerfully in love
with Heathcliff, the orphan Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool. Catherine
loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person.
However, her desire for social advancement motivates her to marry Edgar Linton
instead. Catherine is free-spirited, beautiful, spoiled, and often arrogant.
She is given to fits of temper, and she is torn between her wild passion for
Heathcliff and her social ambition. She brings misery to both of the men who love
her.
Edgar Linton -
Well-bred but rather spoiled as a boy, Edgar Linton grows into a tender,
constant, but cowardly man. He is almost the ideal gentleman: Catherine
accurately describes him as “handsome,” “pleasant to be with,” “cheerful,” and
“rich.” However, this full assortment of gentlemanly characteristics, along
with his civilized virtues, proves useless in Edgar’s clashes with his foil,
Heathcliff, who gains power over his wife, sister, and daughter.
Nelly Dean -
Nelly Dean (known formally as Ellen Dean) serves as the chief narrator of Wuthering
Heights. A sensible, intelligent, and compassionate woman, she grew up essentially
alongside Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw and is deeply involved in the story
she tells. She has strong feelings for the characters in her story, and these
feelings complicate her narration.
Lockwood -
Lockwood’s narration forms a frame around Nelly’s; he serves as an intermediary
between Nelly and the reader. A somewhat vain and presumptuous gentleman, he
deals very clumsily with the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Lockwood comes
from a more domesticated region of England, and he finds himself at a loss when
he witnesses the strange household’s disregard for the social conventions that
have always structured his world. As a narrator, his vanity and unfamiliarity
with the story occasionally lead him to misunderstand events.
Young Catherine - For
clarity’s sake, this SparkNote refers to the daughter of Edgar Linton and the
first Catherine as “young Catherine.” The first Catherine begins her life as
Catherine Earnshaw and ends it as Catherine Linton; her daughter begins as
Catherine Linton and, assuming that she marries Hareton after the end of the
story, goes on to become Catherine Earnshaw. The mother and the daughter share
not only a name, but also a tendency toward headstrong behavior, impetuousness,
and occasional arrogance. However, Edgar’s influence seems to have tempered
young Catherine’s character, and she is a gentler and more compassionate
creature than her mother.
Hareton Earnshaw -
The son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw, Hareton is Catherine’s nephew. After
Hindley’s death, Heathcliff assumes custody of Hareton, and raises him as an
uneducated field worker, just as Hindley had done to Heathcliff himself. Thus
Heathcliff uses Hareton to seek revenge on Hindley. Illiterate and
quick-tempered, Hareton is easily humiliated, but shows a good heart and a deep
desire to improve himself. At the end of the novel, he marries young Catherine.
Linton Heathcliff -
Heathcliff’s son by Isabella. Weak, sniveling, demanding, and constantly ill,
Linton is raised in London by his mother and does not meet his father until he
is thirteen years old, when he goes to live with him after his mother’s death.
Heathcliff despises Linton, treats him contemptuously, and, by forcing him to
marry the young Catherine, uses him to cement his control over Thrushcross Grange
after Edgar Linton’s death. Linton himself dies not long after this marriage.
Hindley Earnshaw -
Catherine’s brother, and Mr. Earnshaw’s son. Hindley resents it when Heathcliff
is brought to live at Wuthering Heights. After his father dies and he inherits
the estate, Hindley begins to abuse the young Heathcliff, terminating his
education and forcing him to work in the fields. When Hindley’s wife Frances
dies shortly after giving birth to their son Hareton, he lapses into alcoholism
and dissipation.
Isabella Linton -
Edgar Linton’s sister, who falls in love with Heathcliff and marries him. She
sees Heathcliff as a romantic figure, like a character in a novel. Ultimately,
she ruins her life by falling in love with him. He never returns her feelings and
treats her as a mere tool in his quest for revenge on the Linton family.
Mr. Earnshaw -
Catherine and Hindley’s father. Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff and brings him
to live at Wuthering Heights. Mr. Earnshaw prefers Heathcliff to Hindley but
nevertheless bequeaths Wuthering Heights to Hindley when he dies.
Mrs. Earnshaw -
Catherine and Hindley’s mother, who neither likes nor trusts the orphan
Heathcliff when he is brought to live at her house. She dies shortly after
Heathcliff’s arrival at Wuthering Heights.
Joseph - A
long-winded, fanatically religious, elderly servant at Wuthering Heights.
Joseph is strange, stubborn, and unkind, and he speaks with a thick Yorkshire
accent.
Frances Earnshaw -
Hindley’s simpering, silly wife, who treats Heathcliff cruelly. She dies
shortly after giving birth to Hareton.
Mr. Linton -
Edgar and Isabella’s father and the proprietor of Thrushcross Grange when
Heathcliff and Catherine are children. An established member of the gentry, he
raises his son and daughter to be well-mannered young people.
Mrs. Linton -
Mr. Linton’s somewhat snobbish wife, who does not like Heathcliff to be allowed
near her children, Edgar and Isabella. She teaches Catherine to act like a
gentle-woman, thereby instilling her with social ambitions.
Mr. Green -
Edgar Linton’s lawyer, who arrives too late to hear Edgar’s final instruction
to change his will, which would have prevented Heathcliff from obtaining
control over Thrushcross Grange.
D.N.
Aloysius
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