Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka External Degree Course 2018-2019 First Year Students

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

In the winter of 1801, our narrator, Lockwood, shows up at Wuthering Heights to make arrangements with Heathcliff to rent the nearby manor, Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff, the landlord, makes no effort to be pleasant and immediately becomes a source of deep curiosity to Lockwood. A snowstorm forces Lockwood to spend the night at Wuthering Heights, and he has crazy nightmares complete with a wailing ghost named Catherine Linton trying to come through the window.

Settled into his new house, Lockwood invites the housekeeper, Ellen "Nelly" Dean, to tell the story of the curious inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Nelly is all too happy to recount the dark tale of the Earnshaws, the Lintons, and, mostly, Heathcliff.

We jump into the past as Nelly recounts the story. Nelly starts to work for the Earnshaws as a young girl. Everything is fine until Mr. Earnshaw takes a trip to Liverpool and returns with a swarthy little orphan child named Heathcliff. Though Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine takes to the boy after only some initial aversion, the son, Hindley, resents his father's favoritism of the strange and rude boy.

Soon Catherine and Heathcliff are inseparable, but Hindley's bitterness has only grown, so he goes off to college. Catherine and Heathcliff briefly enjoy a sort of idyllic, adventurous childhood out on the stormy moors and snuggling in the oak-paneled bed.

When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley returns from college, with his new wife Frances, to claim his place as master of Wuthering Heights. College hasn't altered Hindley's feelings toward Heathcliff, so he decides to make life miserable for his adopted brother by treating him like a servant.

With Hindley acting the tyrant, Catherine provides Heathcliff's only solace. They remain allies and friends. One night Heathcliff and Catherine ramble down to Thrushcross Grange to spy on the Linton children, Edgar and Isabella, who live a pampered and protected existence. When a dog bites Catherine, she is forced to stay at the Grange for five weeks to recuperate. While there, she captures the affections of young Edgar. Back at Wuthering Heights, life without Catherine has been miserable for Heathcliff, but with Edgar in the picture things will never be the same.

Frances dies after giving birth to a son, Hareton. Without his wife to help tone down his rage, Hindley becomes even more vengeful toward Heathcliff. Hindley resents his new son, and he becomes an abusive alcoholic. His primary activity is making life miserable for Heathcliff and, as a consequence, for everyone else in the house.

Though Catherine confesses to Nelly an all-consuming love for Heathcliff, she still marries Edgar. Heathcliff takes off for three years. When he returns, Heathcliff finds Catherine and Edgar married and living at Thrushcross Grange.

Heathcliff is now on a mission of revenge against Hindley, who is in even worse shape than before. Loaded with a bunch of money gained during his mysterious absence, Heathcliff sets into motion his master plan to acquire Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff exploits the fact that Hindley in a drunken mess and engages him in extended bouts of gambling that eventually lead Hindley to mortgage Wuthering Heights to pay his debts. The house now belongs to Heathcliff. Heathcliff continues to visit Catherine at Thrushcross Grange, though her husband Edgar treats him like a low-born outsider. In order to acquire Edgar's property, Heathcliff marries Isabella Linton, who brings out all of his abusive instincts.

A violent argument between Edgar and Heathcliff sends Catherine to the sickbed, from which she never really recovers. She does, however, give birth to a daughter, also named Catherine. When Catherine dies, Heathcliff's sorrow and rage increase and he pleads for Catherine's ghost to haunt him.
Unable to take his abusiveness any longer, Isabella flees for London, where she gives birth to a son, Linton Heathcliff.

For the next thirteen years, Nelly Dean stays at Thrushcross Grange to raise Catherine, a feisty daddy's girl. Edgar and Nelly make sure that Catherine knows nothing of Wuthering Heights or its master. But, like her mother, Catherine is drawn to adventure and wants to explore the moors and all of its craggy, windswept spots. When Nelly forbids her to leave the property of Thrushcross Grange, Catherine goes off on her own. She ends up at Wuthering Heights, where she meets Hindley's son Hareton. Heathcliff's despicable treatment of the young man has turned Hareton into a grunting, uneducated oaf. Still, Catherine is happy to have some companionship.

When Isabella dies, Edgar retrieves his fragile, dismal nephew Linton and brings him back to live with them at Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff has other plans, and demands that his son live with him, though Linton did not even know his father existed. The contrast between Linton and Hareton is stark, but Heathcliff can't stand either of them.

Eventually young Catherine encounters Heathcliff on the moors and ventures to Wuthering Heights, where she meets Linton, whom she only vaguely remembers. She and Linton begin a secret correspondence of love letters sent via the milk-fetcher. When Edgar and Nelly become sick and bedbound, Catherine begins to sneak up to Wuthering Heights to visit Linton. The miserable and suffering Linton becomes a tool of his father's plot for revenge—marrying Catherine would ensure that Linton inherits Thrushcross Grange.

At a prearranged meeting between Catherine and Linton, Heathcliff lures Nelly and Catherine back to Wuthering Heights, where he imprisons them and forces Catherine to marry Linton. Soon after, Edgar dies and so does the sickly, young Linton. Heathcliff is now master of both Wuthering Height and Thrushcross Grange. He keeps his widowed daughter-in-law with him at Wuthering Heights so that she can work for him as a common servant. He rents out Thrushcross Grange to Lockwood.

Nelly's story is now complete. Lockwood's fascination with Heathcliff has turned to disgust and he gives notice to Heathcliff that he will be leaving Thrushcross Grange to return to London. Six months later, however, he is back in the neighborhood and visits Nelly, who gives him an update on the dramatic tale.
Despite her initial rejection of Hareton as an illiterate boor, Catherine warms to him and begins teaching him how to read. Heathcliff finds himself too obsessed with the dead Catherine to even care about the younger generation or even to bother eating or sleeping. Instead of continuing his cycle of abuse and revenge, he wanders the moors, stares into the middle distance, and makes broken-hearted appeals to Catherine's ghost. Heathcliff dies in the oak-paneled bed, a water-logged, grimacing stiff.

Hareton and Catherine inherit the two houses. They plan to marry on New Year's Day and have created a new atmosphere of renewal and hope. Lockwood leaves the happy lovers and passes by the gravestones of Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar. Heathcliff's grave plot is fresh and not yet covered with grass.

Wuthering Heights is narrated through the diary of Mr. Lockwood as he writes down both his own experiences and the recollections of others. Desiring solitude, Lockwood has recently begun renting Thrushcross Grange, a remote house in the Yorkshire Moors of Northern England. One day, he decides to visit Wuthering Heights, the nearby home of his new landlord, Heathcliff. At Wuthering Heights, Lockwood encounters several strange and unpleasant characters: Cathy, Heathcliff’s beautiful but rude daughter-in-law; Hareton Earnshaw, an uncivilized yet proud young man; Joseph, a surly old servant; and Heathcliff, the misanthropic owner of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Mystified by the obvious animosity between the occupants of Wuthering Heights, Lockwood returns for a second visit but is forced to spend the night when a snowstorm hits. In the middle of the night, Lockwood is awakened by a ghostly child who calls herself Catherine Linton and begs to be let in through the window. Utterly terrified, Lockwood wakes Heathcliff, who then proceeds to throw open the window and call out to the ghost, begging it to return. Desperate to leave this haunted house and its eerie residents, Lockwood sets off for Thrushcross Grange as soon as possible.

After returning home, Lockwood asks the housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange, Nelly Dean, whether she knows anything about the strange occupants of Wuthering Heights. Nelly explains that she grew up as a servant at the Heights and is well acquainted with the history of the house. Taking over the narration, Nelly begins her story nearly thirty years earlier, when Wuthering Heights was owned by the Earnshaw family: Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw and their two young children, Catherine and Hindley. One day, Mr. Earnshaw returns from a trip with a swarthy young orphan boy, who the family later names Heathcliff. Catherine warms to Heathcliff and the two become fast friends, while Hindley, jealous of Mr. Earnshaw’s obvious preference for his adopted son, resents and abuses Heathcliff. As the conflict between Heathcliff and Hindley grows, Mr. Earnshaw finally decides to resolve the situation by sending Hindley away to college. When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley returns from school with his new wife, Frances, and takes control of Wuthering Heights.

Almost immediately, Hindley reduces Heathcliff to the position of a servant. Though Heathcliff’s life is now full of difficult and degrading work, his friendship with Catherine keeps him going. Hindey is utterly devoted to Frances and, as a result, gives little thought to Heathcliff’s and Catherine’s upbringing. Largely unmonitored, they spend their childhood wandering through the moors and misbehaving together. On one of their adventures, they sneak over to nearby Thrushcross Grange, where the refined Linton family resides. After the children are attacked by the Lintons’ dogs while spying through the windows, the Lintons take Catherine in but turn Heathcliff—who they call a “frightful thing”—away. Catherine stays with the Lintons for several weeks as her dog bite heals. When Catherine finally returns to Wuthering Heights, she dresses and acts more like a lady. To humiliate Heathcliff, Hindley orders him to greet Catherine like all the other servants. Catherine insensitively calls Heathcliff dirty, comparing him to her elegant and pristine new friends, Edgar and Isabella Linton. When Mr. and Mrs. Linton allow young Edgar and Isabella to visit Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff lashes out at Edgar after being humiliated yet again by Hindley. Young Heathcliff vows revenge on Hindley, though Nelly counsels him to learn to forgive.

Frances eventually gives birth to a son, Hareton, though she dies soon after. Devastated, Hindley sinks into alcoholism, becoming even more erratic and abusive. During this time, Edgar Linton begins to court Catherine, who often feels caught in the middle of Edgar’s and Heathcliff’s animosity toward one another. One day, Catherine tells Nelly that Edgar has proposed and she has accepted. Catherine admits, however, that she would have gladly married Heathcliff over Edgar had Hindley not made him a lowly servant. Unbeknownst to Catherine, Heathcliff overhears her, and after hearing Catherine say it would “degrade” her to marry him, he leaves Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff thus does not hear the rest of Catherine and Nelly’s conversation, during which Catherine explains how deeply she loves Heathcliff.

After three years, Catherine and Edgar are married and live at Thrushcross Grange with Edgar’s sister, Isabella. Heathcliff finally returns, having mysteriously acquired a fortune during his time away. To everyone’s surprise, Heathcliff stays at Wuthering Heights with Hindley, who has now become a degenerate gambler. Catherine is overjoyed to see Heathcliff once more, and he soon becomes a regular visitor at Thrushcross Grange. Edgar, however, still dislikes Heathcliff and is uncomfortable with Catherine and Heathcliff’s unusual relationship. Knowing that Isabella is the heir to Edgar’s property, Heathcliff begins courting her. A confrontation finally occurs between Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar, and Heathcliff is ordered to leave by Edgar. The stress of the situation causes Catherine to fall ill, and she remains mentally and physically weak for months. Meanwhile, Heathcliff elopes with Isabella, causing Edgar to cut off all communication with Isabella. Increasingly frail, Catherine dies soon after giving birth to a daughter, who is also named Catherine. 

Heathcliff is devastated by Catherine’s death and vows revenge on Edgar. Isabella eventually flees the increasingly abusive and violent atmosphere at Wuthering Heights for London. Several months later, she gives birth to a son, Linton Heathcliff, whom she raises alone. Upon Hindley’s death, Nelly realizes that Wuthering Heights has been mortgaged extensively to Heathcliff, who is now the de facto owner. As the years pass, Edgar is a doting father to young Cathy, though he takes pains to conceal the existence of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights from her. When Isabella dies, Edgar tries to adopt Linton (now twelve), but he is thwarted by Heathcliff, who demands that his son come to live with him at Wuthering Heights. Several years later, Cathy accidentally discovers both Wuthering Heights and her cousin Linton. This meeting puts Heathcliff’s larger revenge plot into motion: by forcing Cathy to marry the terminally ill Linton, Heathcliff ensures that he will gain control over both Edgar’s daughter and his family home.

Heathcliff eventually succeeds by kidnapping Cathy and forcing her to marry Linton. Edgar dies and Linton inherits Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff compels Cathy to move to Wuthering Heights, and Linton dies soon after, bequeathing all of his property to Heathcliff. The story has now caught up to the present, and Lockwood’s earlier visit to Wuthering Heights confirms that Heathcliff’s revenge has been a success. Heathcliff has raised Hindley’s promising son, Hareton, as a rude, uneducated servant, mirroring what Hindley once did to young Heathcliff. Heathcliff has also taken revenge on Edgar by gaining ownership of Thrushcross Grange and making Edgar’s beloved daughter miserable in the process. Disgusted by the whole affair, Lockwood decides to leave the area.

Several months later, Lockwood visits Wuthering Heights once more. He is surprised to hear that Heathcliff is dead, his desire for revenge having been overshadowed by his desire to be reunited with Catherine. According to Nelly, Heathcliff began behaving strangely and claimed he was “within sight of heaven” after spending a night wandering on the moors. A few days later, he died. Since his death, several villagers claim to have seen Heathcliff’s and Catherine’s ghosts walking through the moors. Lockwood is surprised to hear that Cathy and Hareton are now in love and plan to be married in the New Year. Nelly tells Lockwood that she and the young couple plan to move back into Thrushcross Grange after the wedding. Leaving Wuthering Heights, Lockwood wanders over to the graves of Edgar, Catherine, and Heathcliff, certain in the belief that they are finally at peace.

First published in 1847, Wuthering Heights is an enduring gothic romance filled with intrigue and terror. It is set in the northern England countryside, where the weather fluctuates in sudden extremes and where bogs can open underfoot of unsuspecting night ventures. Under this atmospheric dome of brooding unpredictability, Brontë explores the violent and unpredictable elements of human passion. The story revolves around the tempestuous romance between Heathcliff, an orphan who is taken home to Wuthering Heights on impulse, and Catherine Earnshaw, a strong-willed girl whose mother died delivering her and who becomes Heathcliff’s close companion.

The setting is central to the novel. Both action and characters can be understood in terms of two households. Wuthering Heights, overtaken by the sinister usurper, Heathcliff, becomes a dark, winter world of precipitous acts that lead to brutality, vengeance, and social alienation. What Wuthering Heights lacks in history, education, and gregariousness is supplied by the more spring like Thrushcross Grange, where the fair-haired Lintons live in the human world of reason, order, and gentleness. Unfortunately, these less passionate mortals are subject to the indifferent forces of nature, dying in childbirth and of consumption too easily. They are subject to Heathcliff’s wrath as well, losing all assets and independence to him.

Brontë uses the element of unpredictability to spur the action in Wuthering Heights, which adds excitement and suspense at every turn and enlivens the characters by infusing them with the characteristic storminess of the moorland weather. Seemingly chance events gather like ominous clouds to create the passionate tale of Heathcliff and Catherine. They are brought together by chance and are left to roam the moor together, far from the world of shelter and discipline, when Catherine’s father dies, leaving her tyrannical brother, Hindley, in charge. Accident also accounts for Catherine’s introduction to the more refined world of Thrushcross Grange, when she is bitten by a watchdog while spying on her cousins, who then rescue her. Even Heathcliff’s angry departure and vowed vengeance is the result of eavesdropping, hearing only what he could mistake for rejection, and not Catherine’s true feelings for him.

In Heathcliff’s character, Brontë explores the great destructive potential of unrestrained passion. In him, human emotion is uncontrollable and deadly. In the ghostly union of Catherine and Heathcliff beyond the grave, however, Brontë suggests the metaphysical nature of love and the potential of passion to project itself beyond the physical realm of existence.

The ending of Wuthering Heights depicts Brontë’s final answer to the theme of destructive passion—the answer of mercy and forgiveness, which Brontë holds to be the supreme quality in human beings. Hareton, whom Heathcliff once unwittingly saved from death and then forever after abused, forgives his captor for everything. This forgiveness is accompanied by the mercy that Catherine Linton shows Hareton, teaching him to read after years of mocking his ignorance. Together, these acts of grace nullify the deadly effects of their keeper, who dies soon afterward. The passion of winter becomes the compromise of spring; the storm has passed, and life continues in harmony at last.

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 Emily Jane Brontë was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third-eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother Branwell. She published under the pen name Ellis Bell. Born: July 30, 1818, Thornton, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.Died: December 19, 1848, Haworth, United Kingdom