Wuthering Heights

Plot

Opening

Nelly's tale

Ending

Family tree

Characters

• Heathcliff: An ethnically uncertain foundling from Liverpool, who is taken by Earnshaw to Wuthering Heights, where he is reluctantly cared for by the family and spoiled by his adoptive father. He and Mr Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine, grow close, and their love and mutual possession is the central theme of the first volume. On discovering Catherine's engagement to marry Edgar, Heathcliff leaves; only to return three years later, having acquired both wealth and legal expertise, which he then applies with ruthlessness and great cruelty. His revenge against Edgar and Hindley, and its consequences are the central theme of the second volume. Once both his enemies are dead, Heathcliff resolves to carry on his campaign of vengeance against their offspring, Cathy, and Hareton. He is 20 when he marries Edgar's sister Isabella, and 38 when he dies intestate. Since he has then no next of kin, Heathcliff's estate will escheat to the crown; although, as Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights must revert to their true owners, and as his inheritance of Edgar's personal property through first Edgar's will amd then that of his son Linton, could not by then both have completed probate, the bulk of the wealth he has amassed in Gimmerton is unlikely to be escheated. Heathcliff has been considered as a Byronic hero, but critics have pointed out that he reinvents himself at various points, making his character hard to fit into any single type. He has an ambiguous position in society, and his lack of status is underlined by the fact that "Heathcliff" is both his given name and his surname. The character of Heathcliff may have been inspired by Branwell Brontë. An alcoholic and an opium addict, he would have indeed terrorised Emily and her sister Charlotte during frequent crises of delirium tremens that affected him a few years before his death. Even though Heathcliff has no alcohol or drug problems, the influence of Branwell's character is likely.
• Catherine Earnshaw: addressed as Cathy by Heathcliff, and as Catherine by Edgar. First introduced to the reader after her death, through Lockwood's discovery of her diary and her carvings. As a child she is, like Heathcliff, wild and untameable; growing into adulthood, her behaviour may appear sociable and conventional, but wildness, self-centeredness, and even cruelty are never deeply buried. She is 17 when she marries Edgar. The description of her life is confined almost entirely to the first volume; but her increasingly powerful possession of Heathcliff becomes the driving force of the second volume. She seems unsure whether she is, or wants to become, more like Heathcliff, or aspires to be more like Edgar. Some critics argued that her decision to marry Edgar Linton is allegorically a rejection of nature and a surrender to culture, a choice with unfortunate, fateful consequences for all the other characters. She dies hours after giving birth to her daughter.
• Edgar Linton: Introduced as a child in the Linton family, he resides at Thrushcross Grange; and is, like his father, a leading figure in the local landed gentry and a magistrate. Edgar's style and manners are in sharp contrast to those of Heathcliff, who instantly dislikes him, and of Catherine, who is drawn to him. He is 21 when he weds Catherine, who marries him instead of Heathcliff because of his higher social status, with disastrous results to all characters in the story. He dotes on his wife and later his daughter; but, as the Thrushcross Grange estate had been entailed in the male line by a strict settlement in his father's will, he proves unable to prevent his landed property from being inherited by Linton Heathcliff, and falling into the possession of Heathcliff; while his attempt to protect his personal property and Cathy's substantial marriage portion from Heathcliff by placing it in trust, fails when he is betrayed by his attorney, Mr Green. Consequently Cathy, now married to Linton Heathcliff, remains at Edgar's death as the residual beneficiary of his personal property, and is implied to be the sole executor of his will.
• Ellen Dean: referred to as Nelly among those close to her. The main narrator of the novel, Nelly is a servant to three generations of the Earnshaws and two of the Linton family. Humbly born, she regards herself nevertheless as Hindley's foster-sister. She lives and works among the rough inhabitants of Wuthering Heights but is well-read, and she also experiences the more genteel manners of Thrushcross Grange. Both Catherine and Heathcliff confide in her, as does Isabella but not Edgar. She arranges the burial of Hindley; and then of Edgar alongside Catherine in accordance with his will. Heathcliff subsequently seeks Nelly's assurance that she will do the same service for him after his death. Critics have discussed how far her actions as an apparent bystander affect the other characters and how much her narrative can be relied on. In "The Villain in Wuthering Heights" James Hafley argues that Nelly seems to be the moral centre of the novel only because of the instability and violence of the world she describes. In his view, she is the true villain of the novel, as she drives the majority of the conflicts by selectively revealing or concealing what others are doing; and, at the end, is apparently in control at both houses.
• Isabella Linton: Edgar's younger sister. Once Heathcliff returns, she views him romantically, despite Catherine's warnings, and becomes an unwitting participant in his plot for revenge against Edgar and Catherine. When she is aged 19, Heathcliff manipulates Isabella into eloping with him and reveals his cruel nature to her immediately after they are wed. Heathcliff verbally and physically abuses Isabella, keeps her imprisoned in the house, and is strongly implied to rape her. While pregnant, Isabella manages to escape to London and give birth to their son, Linton. She entrusts her son to her brother Edgar when she dies. Heathcliff's dubious claim to continued lifetime possession of the Thrushcross Grange estate after Linton Heathcliff dies is based on the common law right of 'curtesy' from his marriage to Isabella.
• Hindley Earnshaw: Catherine's elder brother. Hindley despises Heathcliff immediately and bullies him throughout their childhood before his father sends him away to university. Aged 20, Hindley returns with his wife Frances, after Mr Earnshaw dies. He is more mature, but his hatred of Heathcliff remains the same. After Frances's death, Hindley reverts to destructive behaviour, neglects his son, and ruins the Earnshaw estate by drinking and gambling to excess. He allows the returning Heathcliff to re-establish himself at Wuthering Heights; initially because he pays a generous rent, subsequently in the hope of winning back the money he has lost. Heathcliff beats Hindley after Hindley fails in his attempt to kill him with a pistol. He dies less than a year after Catherine and leaves his son as owner of an estate encumbered with mortgage debt.
• Hareton Earnshaw: The son of Hindley and Frances, raised initially by Nelly and then by Heathcliff, and the heir of the ancient upland farming estate of Wuthering Heights. Hareton speaks with an accent similar to Joseph's, and occupies a position similar to that of a servant; unaware that he is being blocked from his inheritance, although otherwise this is a common knowledge across this part of West Yorkshire. He can read only his name. Joseph works to instill a sense of pride, even though Hareton cannot come into control of Wuthering Heights while it remains mortgaged to Heathcliff. Heathcliff, meanwhile, teaches him vulgarities as a way of avenging himself on Hindley. In appearance, Hareton reminds Heathcliff of his aunt, Catherine. From first meeting Cathy - when she is aged 13 - Hareton is captivated by her; and so mortified when she mocks his uncouth speech and lack of education. When she later apologises and seeks a reconciliation he responds with love; though as he regards Heathcliff as a father-figure he remains torn between him and Cathy. When Cathy confronts Heathcliff directly with having unlawfully taken both her property and his, Hareton is compelled to defend her against Heathcliff's rage and brutality. He is 23 when he marries the widowed Cathy.
• Catherine "Cathy" Linton: addressed as Catherine by Heathcliff, and as Cathy by Edgar. The daughter of Catherine and Edgar Linton, she is like her father in looks and like her mother as a spirited and strong-willed girl, though lacking her mother's self-absorption and disregard for those around her. She is unaware of her parents' history. Edgar is very protective of her and as a result, she is eager to discover what lies beyond the confines of the Grange. She is Edgar's sole heir. She initially treats her cousin Hareton and his lack of education with cruel contempt, while being drawn to the sickly Linton Heathcliff. When abducted by Heathcliff she agrees to marry Linton. The two of them had shared only a few days and nights together as man and wife when, in defiance of his father, Linton helps her escape to her father's deathbed. Returning, Cathy finds Linton himself desperately ill and dying. As a widow, she develops a rapid awareness of both Heathcliff's machinations and of her own resources of determination and defiance. She eventually seeks Hareton's forgiveness and returns his love. Cathy and Hareton are the legal owners of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights respectively; but neither alone is able to challenge Heathcliff's possession of these properties at law - Cathy as a minor, and Hareton as being without education. Having confronted Heathcliff and overmastered his brutal response, the couple plan to marry. While still a minor Cathy will not be able to act legally as a sole executor for Edgar's will or Linton's, but as Linton's widow and Edgar's daughter the ecclesiastical courts will recognise her as executrix with the power to choose Hareton as her co-executor for both wills. She is 17 when she marries Linton, and 19 when she marries Hareton.
• Linton Heathcliff: The son of Heathcliff and Isabella. Linton is recognised from birth as the prospective heir to Thrushcross Grange through his grandfather's will. A weak child, his early years are spent with his mother in the south of England. He learns of his father's identity and existence only after his mother dies when he is twelve. Physically, he resembles his mother, but in selfishness and capacity for cruelty initially he resembles Heathcliff. But he also retains an openness to love, that Cathy appears the only person to recognise and respond to. He marries Cathy Linton at age 16 primarily because his father, who terrifies him, directs him to do so. He is then torn between the overwhelming demands of his father's domineering brutality and those of his new wife's love, compassion and expectation of mutual support and affection; a contest in which Cathy emerges as the winner, when Linton overcomes his terror of Heathcliff and assists her in escaping to her dying father. Heathcliff's response to this defiance is cruel, and though Linton's wasting condition rapidly worsens, he refuses to call the doctor. In his final illness, Linton is pressured into making a will bequeathing all his personal property to his father. But his ownership of the Thrushcross Grange estate cannot pass to Heathcliff, as a minor could not devise land by will. Heathcliff then abandons Linton entirely as being of no further use for his purposes; only Cathy remaining with him in his final days.
• Joseph: A servant at Wuthering Heights for 60 years who is a rigid, self-righteous Christian but lacks any trace of genuine kindness or humanity. He hates nearly everyone in the novel except Hareton; and rejoices at Heathcliff's death, in the confidence of Hareton's reclaiming his lands. The Yorkshire dialect that Joseph speaks was the subject of a 1970 book by the linguist K.M. Petyt, who argued that Emily Brontë recorded the dialect of Haworth accurately.
• Mr Lockwood: The first narrator, he rents Thrushcross Grange to escape society, but in the end, decides society is preferable. On encountering Wuthering Heights and its unsociable residents, he ostensibly reacts with manners of studied gallantry and gentility; which are almost immediately belied in his subsequent dream encounter with the wailing witch child "Catherine Linton", where his "unexpectedly violent attack upon her indicates the terrified perception of the dangers she represents". In the meantime, he entertains daydreams of courting Cathy Heathcliff, without taking them any further. Lockwood narrates the book until Chapter 4; when the main narrator, Nelly, picks up the tale.
• Frances: Hindley's ailing wife and mother of Hareton Earnshaw. She is described as somewhat silly and is obviously from a humble family. Frances dies not long after the birth of her son.
• Mr and Mrs Earnshaw: Catherine's and Hindley's father, Mr Earnshaw is the master of Wuthering Heights at the beginning of Nelly's story and is described as an irascible but loving and kind-hearted man. The Earnshaws are an ancient farming family with an extensive upland estate, who have held Wuthering Heights since before 1500, but are not gentry. With business in Liverpool, 60 miles distant, Mr Earnshaw walks rather than take a horse away from the harvest. The estate has several tenants, and the farm is sufficiently prosperous that they can afford to send their son, Hindley, to university. Mr Earnshaw favours his adopted son, Heathcliff, which causes trouble in the family. In contrast, his wife mistrusts Heathcliff from their first encounter.
• Mr and Mrs Linton: Edgar's and Isabella's parents, and prominent members of the Yorshire landed gentry. Their modern Thrushcross Grange house is set within a walled and landscaped park; beyond which is an extensive estate with several tenanted farms. They bring up their children to be well-behaved and sophisticated. Mr Linton also serves as the magistrate of Gimmerton, as his son does in later years; and, as was common for gentry families at the time, Mr Linton settles their Thrushcross Grange estate in entail by a strict settlement under the trusteeship of Mr Green, the family lawyer. Under the terms of Mr Linton's will, Edgar - as 'tenant in possession' has only a life interest in the Thrushcross estate, which must pass on his death to his, yet unborn, oldest son. In default of Edgar having no son but only a daughter, the line of inheritance under the will must pass instead through a second entail to Isabella, and her oldest son. That son turns out to be Linton Heathcliff, but although Linton and Cathy marry, they have no offspring, so the line of entails in the will ceases on Linton's death. Thrushcross Grange must then revert back to old Mr Linton, and so pass by intestate succession to his sole heir on the female line, Cathy Heathcliff.
• Mr Kenneth: professionally an apothecary he is always referred to as the 'doctor'. The longtime clinical practitioner of Gimmerton and a friend of Hindley's who is present at most of the cases of illness and death during the novel; although Heathcliff refuses to allow him to examine or treat Linton in his final illness. Not much of his character is known, but he seems to be a rough but honest person.
• Zillah: A servant to Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights during the period following Catherine's death. While Linton is living there, and through his final illness, she is the only resident of Wuthering Heights, other than Cathy, who helps or interacts with him. Although she is kind to Lockwood, she does not like or help Cathy because of her high-handed behaviour and Heathcliff's instructions.
• Mr Green: The family lawyer for both the Earnshaw and Linton families, and the trustee of the strict settlement established by Mr Linton's will; in which capacity he, quite properly, closes down the house after Edgar's death, but also improperly seeks to meddle in the responsibilities of Edgar's executor in respect of his burial. He is suborned by Heathcliff to serve his interests; by standing-by while Heathcliff frustrates Hareton's ownership of Wuthering Heights in failing to allow its profits to repay his mortgages; by allowing Heathcliff to control Thrushcross Grange against Cathy, its legal heiress; and also by not attending the dying Edgar in his wish to alter his will to protect Cathy's inheritance of personal property. Nevertheless, his support of Heathcliff appears to be through strategic inactions, rather than improper actions; and once Heathcliff has died, he may be assumed to have been compliant as Cathy and Hareton together asserted their legal rights. In the final chapters, he is no longer being employed by Cathy to manage her Thrushcross Grange estate.