Wuthering Heights: Chapter Analysis – The Gothic

Chp  Key events Key quotes

 Analysis of chapter in terms of gothic features.

Vol I Lockwood is describing what happened on his visit to Wuthering Heights 1. ‘1801’
1 Even though he is unwelcome he invites himself in 2. ‘The Lord help us!’
Lockwood is attacked by the dogs, and is laughed at by Heathcliff and 3. ‘I observed no signs of roasting, boiling, or baking, about the huge fire-
Joseph place’
Lockwood and Heathcliff talk 4. ‘sundry villainous old guns’
Lockwood invites himself back the next day, despite knowing he was not 5. ‘dogs haunted other recesses’
welcome 6. ‘He is a dark-skinned gypsy’
7. ‘I have a sympathetic chord within that tells me it is nothing of the sort’
1. Date sets the novel at the beginning of the romantic period. Bronte is / ‘I bestow my own attributes over-liberally on him’
parodying romanticism with the gothic. Mocking romanticism. 8. ‘I have gained the reputation of deliberate heartlessness’
2. Religion is introduced early within the novel. Joseph is seen as an 9. ‘What the devil’ / ‘The herd of possessed swine’ / ‘could have had no
oppressive character, and since he represents religion, religion is as a worse spirits’
result seen as oppressive.
3. Lockwood presents a clicheé d description of what people expected of a
welcoming country house. Instead Bronte is tearing down these clicheé s,
and presenting a much more realistic view of rural living.
4. Items in the kitchen reflect Heathcliff’s character.
5. Elements of the supernatural.
6. Element of the exotic.
7. Lockwood, the representation of the romantic genre, is depicted as being
arrogant stupid. Again, Bronte mocking romanticism.
8. Use of contrast between the characters of Lockwood and Heathcliff.
Lockwood sets himself up as Byronic hero but Heathcliff is the real
Byronic hero.
9. Religious language – contrasts with the references to the supernatural.

2 Lockwood invites himself once again to Wuthering Heights
He practically forces his way in and meets Catherine
There is a blizzard which forces Lockwood to seek refuge at W.H but he
refused a bed
He sets off in the snow and the dogs attack him
He comes over all faint and is forced to spend the night at W.H
1. Pathetic fallacy – the bleak weather reflects the isolation of W.H and its
inhabitants.
2. Poking fun at romanticism – Lockwood idealistic description of
Catherine is completely false. She is rude and she swears instead.
1. ‘The earth was hard with a black frost, and the air made me shiver
through every limb.’
2. ‘the most exquisite little face’ / ‘very fair’
3. ‘I don’t want your help’ / ‘I can get them for myself.’
4. ‘you are the favoured possessor’
5. ‘neither of us have the privilege of owning your good fairy’
6. ‘growled’
7. ‘laughing internally at the dignity’
8. ‘one bitter whirl of wind and suffocating snow.’
9. ‘The little witch’ / ‘ ’wicked’ ’
10. ‘They wouldn’t let me go to the end of the garden-wall’
 Breaking conventions of what women were really like. 11. ‘it will not suit me to permit any one the range of the place while I am
3. Women portrayed as independent. Goes against conventions of the time off guard!’
Bronte was writing. 12. ‘You’ll go with him to hell!’
4. Lockwood is ignorant in thinking that women are the possessions by the 13. ‘And who is to look after the horses’
men. 14. ‘I was… dizzy and faint’
5. Women are not owned by men, but they are imprisoned by them. 15. ‘and thus compelled, perforce, to accept lodgings under is roof.’
6. Animal nature – everything about W.H is wild and untameable.
7. Lockwood is shown as being alienated in his surroundings. He
understands nothing and misreads everything.
8. Pathetic fallacy – emphasises the alienation and wildness of W.H.
9. Bronte is poking fun at religion again, as Joseph is scared of Catherine.
10. Catherine depicted as being imprisoned by the men in her life.
11. Bronte is breaking down clicheé d expectations of the hospitable rural folk.
Heathcliff can never relax, he is always being pursued.
12. Thrushcross Grove is set up as Heathcliff’s hell, whilst at the same time
setting him up as a violent character.
13. Bronte is constantly contrasting the gothic with reality. She draws the
reader back to reality.
14. Twisting conventions – Lockwood is presented as persecuted maiden.
15. Ambiguous narrator – Lockwood twists the narrative to make it seem as
if he did not want to stay at W.H.
3 Zillah takes Lockwood to the room Heathcliff does not want anybody to 1. ‘Catherine Earnshaw… Catherine Heathcliff… Catherine Linton’
stay in 2. ‘The intense horror of nightmare came over me’
Lockwood sees the three different ‘Catherine’ names 3. ‘a child’s face’
Lockwood has two nightmares, one where the child Cathy attempts to 4. ‘looking through the window’
break into the house 5. ‘shaking the creature off’
Heathcliff attempts to call Cathy’s ghost into the house 6. ‘I pulled it’s wrist on to the broken pane’
Lockwood returns to Thrushcross Grange 7. ‘all the purposes of embalming’
8. ‘her master had an odd notion about the chamber she would put me in’
1. Generation repetition – the names Cathy writes create a repetition of 9. ‘a circumstance observed me, when awake, but forgotten’
generations common in gothic literature. Also creates a sense of 10. ‘time stagnates here’
confusion for the reader. 11. ‘Oh! My heart’s darling, hear me this time – Catherine, at last!’
2. Unsure whether Lockwood’s nightmare is a dream or in fact the 12. ‘There was such anguish in the gush of relief that accompanied this
supernatural – creates a sense of ambiguity. raving, that my compassion made me overlook its folly’
3. Corrupted childhood 13. ‘You shall pay me for the plague of having you eternally in my sight’
4. Sense of liminality – Cathy’s ghost looking through the window creates a
sense of being on the outside. In this case, she is separated from the
living, her old home and Heathcliff. Windows are often used to create the
sense of liminality.
5. The arcane/supernatural/non-human – creates sense of
uncertainty/terror.
 6. Graphic imagery – creates a sense of horror which works with the sense
of terror to create vivid images in the reader’s imagination.
7. Preservation – the concept that Cathy is still alive and haunting
Heathcliff. (sense of the arcane)
8. Ambiguity and enigma – possibility of the supernatural.
9. Idea that when you are asleep, reason ceases to exist – lack of
power/control over yourself and you become vulnerable.
10. Isolation – removes W.H from the world the reader lives in. Creates sense
of ambiguity/unknown.
11. Heathcliff invites the arcane in – links him to the devil.
12. Contrasts between Heathcliff’s passion and Lockwood’s lack of
comprehension – creates sense of bathos.
13. Heathcliff is torturing himself – hates Catherine but must have her with
him.
4 Lockwood falls ill 1. ‘Hareton has been cast out like an unfledged dunnock!’
To keep him company Nelly begins to tell him the story of W.H 2. ‘I, who had determined to hold myself independent of all social
Tells of how Mr Earnshaw brought Heathcliff home from Liverpool intercourse’ / ‘I desired Mrs Dean… hoping sincerely she would prove a
Tells story of colts which indicates Heathcliff’s cruel nature regular gossip’
Heathcliff was named after a dead son 3. ‘I would like to know her history: whether she be a native of this
country, or, as is more probable, an exotic’
1. Liminality – ostracises character from all human connections and 4. ‘they had christened him Heathcliff; it was the name of a son who had
conventions. died in his childhood’
2. Contrast between the liminality of W.H and its inhabitants with 5. ‘Hindley hated him: and to say the truth I did the same’ / ‘He seemed
Lockwood who blatantly contradicts himself. sullen, patient child; hardened, perhaps, to ill-treated’
3. The exotic – sense of intrigue in the unfamiliar. 6. ‘if you won’t I shall tell your father of the three thrashings you’ve given
4. Doppelganger/generational repetition – Heathcliff is named after a dead me this week, and show him my arm, which is black to the shoulder’
son. Idea of history recurring and repeating itself. 7. ‘It’s a cuckoo’s, sir’
5. Childhood and traumatic past – Heathcliff was disliked at W.H by Nelly 8. ‘sixty miles each way’
and Hindley. Nelly also hints he had a traumatic past. 9. ‘he blubbered aloud’ / showed her humour by grinning and spitting at
6. Psychological and physical abuse – threatens to use his physical scars. the stupid little thing’
Indicates psychological ill health. 10. ‘gipsy’ / ‘imp of Satan’
7. Natural imagery/parasitic imagery – in relation to Heathcliff’s past 11. ‘I really thought him not vindictive – I was deceived, completely, as you
history. will hear.’
8. Hardship of bringing Heathcliff into the family. Foreshadowing his
disruption.
9. Reversal of gender stereotypes. Breaking taboos and creating unsettling
contradictions.
10. Reference to Heathcliff as exotic/devilish.
11. Sense of ambiguity.
5 Mr Earnshaw becomes ill 1. ‘Mr Earnshaw began to fail’ / ‘age and disease arose’
Hindley gets sent to college after continuously taunting his father 2. ‘ransacked a Bible’ / ‘Joseph’s religious curses’
 Cathy’s character is further constructed – hear of how she taunts her
father
Get a sense of the bond between Cathy and Heathcliff
Mr Earnshaw dies
1. Chapter begins with the air of death about it – immediately sets a gloomy
and despondent feel.
2. Religion – sense of bible being used as a weapon.
3. A sense of isolation is apparent with Earnshaw’s isolation and Cathy and
Heathcliff’s separation.
4. Pathetic fallacy – heightens the sentiment of death. Connotes a sense of
the supernatural (Earnshaw’s spirit being taken away)
5. Nelly can be likened to Lockwood for her unrealistic depiction of Cathy –
unreliable narrator. Also romanticises concept of death and describes it
as an appealing prospect.
6. Foreshadowing the harm that Cathy and Heathcliff’s love will bring.
7. Defying gender conventions of the time – breaking taboos.
8. Childhood – Cathy’s hard childhood hardened her.
9. Questioning of patriarchy – breaking taboos of male dominance.
10. Idea of Cathy and Heathcliff creating their own world and heaven where
they are happy, together and alone.
6  Hindley returns for the funeral with his wife, Frances
 Frances expresses her dislike for Heathcliff which foreshadows that
things were about to change – thus Heathcliff becomes a servant.
 Cathy and Heathcliff’s love carries on into this chapter, but they try to
stay away from Hindley.
 They sneak into Thrushcross Grange
 Catherine is attacked by dogs and has to stay with the Lintons for 3
weeks.
 Heathcliff gets locked away whilst Cathy is treated like a princess.
 7. “…but she felt so afraid of dying”
1. Thrushcross Grange is the opposite to Wuthering Heights, it’s colourful
and bright.
2. Heathcliff is locked away, symbolising isolation and liminality. He is also
seen an outsider due to his nature – not culture.
3. The funeral connotes to religion, however most importantly it
foreshadows future deaths of Isabella and Cathy.
4. Frances is already portrayed as the weak trembling victim, and her death
is arguably foreseen.
5. Religious words also create suspicion and suspense. Also CATHY IS
TOUGH!
3. ‘confined to the chimney corner’ / ‘to keep her separate from him’
4. ‘A high wind blustered around the house, and roared in the chimney’
5. ‘A wild, wickslip she was – but, she had the bonniest eye, and the
sweetest smile, and the lightest foot in all the parish’ / ‘I could not help
wishing we were all there safe together’ (heaven)
6. ‘She was much too fond of Heathcliff’
7. ‘she was never so happy as when we were all scolding her at once…
defying us with her bold, saucy look’
8. ‘being repulsed continuously hardened her’
9. ‘Why canst thou not always be a good lass, Cathy?’ / ‘Why canst thou
not always be a good man, father?’
10. ‘The little souls were comforting each other’ / ‘no parson in the world
ever pictured Heaven so beautifully as they did’
1. “Ah – it was beautiful – a splendid place carpeted with crimson”.
2. “and there’s a lad here… who looks like an outer-and-outer!”
3. Expect the preparing for the burial, and the presence of the mourners”
4. Rather thin but young, and fresh complexioned, and her eyes sparkled
as bright as diamonds”.
5. The devil had seized her ankle… if she had been spitted on the horns of
a mad cow”
6. “What she was, and where she was born he never informed us… she had
neither money nor name to recommend her”
8. “it was one of their chief amusements to run away to the moors in the
morning and remain there all day, and the after punishment grew
more a thing to laugh at”
9. “They were invisible”
10. “…crimson covered chairs and tables… pure white ceiling bordered by
gold…”
11. “Isabella – I believe she is eleven, a year younger than Cathy”
12. “I intended shattering their great glass panes to a million of fragments,
unless they let her out.
“…vacant blue eyes of the Lintons… a dim reflection from her own enchanting
 6. Hindley isn’t marrying Frances for her title or wealth. Perhaps this is the face”
most real example of true love in the novel, however the fact that it is
quickly terminated suggests a message from Bronte about true love
lasting.
7. Frances seems to be in the wrong place as Wuthering Heights
surrounded by the dark and gloom when she is so precious.
8. Heathcliff and Cathy are creating social taboos, yet they don’t care!
9. Cathy and Heathcliff have an air of the supernatural. They appear to be
above religion and the social norm as they are ‘one soul’ and know they
will be together in hell or on the moors. Not in heaven.
10. Cathy and Heathcliff are in awe of Thrushcross Grange, and the
differences between Wuthering Heights and TG are highlighted.
11. 12 is the age where a girl supposedly hits puberty, and this is the time
when Cathy meets Edgar.
12. There is always a window between Cathy and Heathcliff
- For the boy who doesn’t say much, Heathcliff says a lot

7  Clash of the classes – Class difference- Catherine is previously unaware of  ‘Heathcliff was hard to discover, at first – if he were careless and uncared
class. Catherine’s five weeks at Thrushcross Grange – learns to be a ‘lady’ for…’
whilst Heathcliff remains at WH. Upon Catherine’s arrival back, Heathcliff’s  ‘Heathcliff, you may come forward’ – Hindley
inferiority has been made even more apparent due to Hindley’s rule over him  ‘I did not mean to laugh at you’ - Catherine
 Chapter signifies end of childhood happiness – deterioration of a  ‘I shall be as dirty as I please, and I like to be dirty, and I will be dirty.’ -
relationship- Catherine has been moved on and away from Heathcliff and is Heathcliff
becoming a lady. She doesn’t have much choice on the matter as she is put
under a lot of pressure, but at the same time it is arguable that she
 ‘I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I
appreciates the attention and therefore does not resist. She wishes to
wait, if I can only do it, at last. I hope he will not die before I do!
maintain friendship with Heathcliff but she is living in two worlds and it is
not practical. Catherine realises the superiority surrounding being civilised  ‘The little monkey had crept by the skylight of one garret, along the roof,
 Violence- Heathcliff expresses resentment through violence – Throwing into the skylight of the other, and it was with the utmost difficulty I could
apple sauce over Edgar Linton, which escalates to vengefulness as the coax her out again.’
chapter progresses.
 The forbidden, deep connection between Catherine and Heathcliff- After the
meal, Catherine feels sorry for Heathcliff and believes the way he has been
treated is wrong. She decides to visit Heathcliff.

8  Death and denial- significant chapter because of the death of Frances. This  ‘…his sorrow was of a kind that will not lament, he neither wept nor prayed
occurs shortly after childbirth. Before death, as Frances was slowly he cursed and defied execrated God and man, and gave himself up to
deteriorating, Hindley continued to insist that she would recover. After her reckless dissipation’
death, Hindley is described as sorrowful.
  Collapse of normality and routine- the mood at Wuthering Heights has
altered, becomes segregated from civilisation.
 For a while, Catherine dislikes having Edgar at Wuthering Heights, she is
starting to feel as if she cannot maintain the façade of a personality she has
been persuaded to adopt. Catherine also shows a violent streak, she ‘pinches’
Nelly as she feels irritated by her presence, and furthermore slaps her out of
embarrassment that Edgar has overheard. She denies the violence, which
also displays her denial in relation to the fact of the type of person she has
become.
 Power/enchantment of love- could be seen as Catherine having power (?)
over Linton in this chapter. Catherine and Edgar confess themselves lovers’
by the end of the chapter.
9  Hindley enters, drunk. Could either be very affectionate or ragingly angry-
extremes of emotion portrayed. Rapid changes in mood occur- confusion,
want of love from his son etc.
 Very violent chapter- Hindley threatens to kill Nelly, and talks of someone
else he has just killed. This violence is often casually dismissed, acting as a
direct contrast to something seemingly terrifying
 Hindley drops his son off the top of the stairs and Heathcliff catches him.
This natural instinct to catch the falling child makes his own plans for
revenge against Hindley much more difficult
 Catherine realises differences between her love for Edgar and her love for
Heathcliff; she realises her sensibilities.
 Catherine discusses her choice to marry Edgar with Nelly, not knowing that
Heathcliff overhears her opinions on the class differences between Edgar
and Heathcliff. Heathcliff proceeds to leave the heights without informing
anyone- Catherine waits up for him to come back, in vain. Weather on the
summer night is dark and unnerving to the residents of Wuthering Heights-
foreboding of things to come.
 Religious references and weather used to create a seemingly apocalyptic
scene in the wake of Heathcliff’s disappearance- suggests a dismal future is
abound.
 Catherine becomes ill and moves to Thrushcross Grange to recuperate;
Edgar’s parents both die of the illness.
 Catherine as the maiden character (helpless, reliant on others) and Nelly as
the mother figure. Nelly is wiser, giving advice: conflicting ideas of love
 ‘…nobody decent came near us’
 ‘I didn’t touch you, you lying creature!’ (Also relating to class difference,
sees herself as superior, contrasting to the beginning of the novel)
 ‘Catherine, love! Catherine!’ interposed Linton, greatly shocked at the
double fault of falsehood, and violence which his idol had committed.’
 ‘The quarrel has merely effected a closer intimacy.’
 “…for in one he ran a chance of being squeezed or kissed to death, and in
the other of being flung into the fire, or dashed against the wall”
 “Damn thee, kiss me! By God, as if I would rear such a monster! As sure as
I’m living, I’ll break the brat’s neck”
 “He held the knife in his hand, and pushed its point between my teeth: but,
for my part, I was never much afraid of his vagaries”
 “It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intensest anguish at having
made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge”
 “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s
is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire”
 “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m
well aware… My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a
source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!”
 “It was a very dark evening for summer: the clouds appeared inclined to
thunder, and I said we had better all sit down”
 “About midnight, while we still sat up, the storm came rattling over the
Heights in full fury. There was a violent wind, as well as thunder, and either
one or the other split a tree off at the corner of the building”
 “Joseph swung onto his knees, beseeching the Lord to remember the
patriarchs Noah and Lot, and, as in former times, spare the righteous”
 “She paused, and hid her face in the folds of my gown; but I jerked it
forcibly away. I was out of patience with her folly!”
 “Well, that settles it: if you have only to do with the present, marry Mr.
 are evident
 Irony: the apparent happiness of Edgar when marrying Catherine exactly
three years after his father’s death. The death of Edgar’s parents seems to
overshadow his marriage.
10  Catherine and Edgar are living happily together at Thrushcross Grange-
Edgar seems completely smitten by her and gives her everything she wants,
even going so far as to say that a knife in him would cause less pain than to
see her upset/annoyed. Because Edgar does whatever Catherine wants, she
takes on the more masculine role in the relationship, disregarding common
gender roles and conventions. This peacefulness also sets up the couple for
a downfall from happiness
 Two narrators- Lockwood on the first page & Nelly afterwards. Lockwood
diverts the reader with his trivial matters and falsely romanticised
imagery of his surroundings. Unreliable narrator.
 The scene in the moments before Heathcliff arrives back at Thrushcross
Grange reflects the future of the residents at the house- it unmistakably has a
sense of darkness and shadow
 Heathcliff’s disposition seems to have changed since he left Wuthering
Heights- he has returned to Thrushcross Grange with an image similar to
that of a typical Byronic hero: A deep, foreign-sounding voice, tall, with dark
hair and skin. He has not actually changed in appearance at all; it is only
Nelly’s first perception of him. On further inspection, once light is cast onto
him, she recognises his features and he is ultimately the same Heathcliff he
was before he left the Heights, although he now appears sophisticated and
rich.
 Heathcliff now lives at Wuthering Heights with Hindley, paying rent but
winning the money back at cards. Heathcliff often visits the Grange, and
during this time Isabella, Edgar’s sister, becomes infatuated with him.
She becomes irritated because Catherine does not let her spend any time
alone with him, and warns Isabella that to fall in love with Heathcliff
would be a great risk to her emotions.
 Catherine teases Isabella by informing Heathcliff of her love for him, and
holds her in place so she can’t escape the situation. Catherine claims that the
love Edgar has for her is nothing compared to Isabella’s love for Heathcliff-
extremes of emotion portrayed.
 Heathcliff expresses his dislike of Isabella once she has exited the room- he
claims he would beat her if they were to marry and live together, since she
resembles Edgar too much in Heathcliff’s eyes.
11 Nelly goes to Wuthering Heights to talk to Hindley, but instead she finds a
young Hareton
Heathcliff appears so Nelly runs away
Linton”
 Edgar Linton, as multitudes have been before and will be after him, was
infatuated; and believed himself the happiest man alive on the day he led
her to Gimmerton chapel, three years subsequent to his father’s death”
 “He many a time spoke sternly to me about my pertness; and averred that
the stab of a knife could not inflict a worse pang than he suffered at seeing
his lady vexed”
 “A charming introduction to a hermit’s life! Four weeks’ torture, tossing
and sickness!”
 “But alas! How can I offend a man who is good to sit at my bedside a good
hour and talk on some other subject than pills, and draughts, blisters, and
leeches?”
 “It had got dusk, and the moon looked over the high wall of the court,
causing undefined shadows to lurk in the corners of the numerous
projecting portions of the building”
 “A ray fell on his features; the cheeks were sallow, and half covered with
black whiskers; the brows lowering, the eyes deep set and singular. I
remembered the eyes”
 "I never say to him to let this or that enemy alone, because it would be
ungenerous or cruel to harm them, I say "Let them alone, because I should
hate them to be wronged"; and he'd crush you, like a sparrow's egg,
Isabella, if he found you a troublesome charge" Heathcliff is portrayed as
“an arid wilderness of furze and whinstone”- in contrast with Isabella as
a “sparrow’s egg”.
 “Heathcliff, why don’t you evince satisfaction at my pleasant news? Isabella
swears that the love Edgar has for me is nothing to that she entertains for
you”.
 “You’d hear of odd things is I lived alone with that mawkish, waxen face:
the most ordinary would be painting on its white the colours of the
rainbow, and turning the blue eyes black, every day or two: they detestably
resemble Linton’s”.
1. ‘While meditating on these things in solitude’
2. ‘I’ve got up in a sudden terror’
3. ‘a bright, frosty afternoon; the ground bare, and the road hard and dry.’
 Heathcliff makes his move on Isabella 4. ‘my bodily eye was cheated into a momentary belief… It vanished in a
Cathy confronts Heathcliff about his intentions towards Isabella twinkling’
Nelly alerts Edgar Linton and Cathy encourages Heathcliff and Linton to fight 5. ‘supposing it were a sign of death’
Linton demands Cathy must choose between him and Heathcliff so she locks 6. ‘the apparition had outstripped me’
herself away and starves herself 7. ‘He raised his missile to hurl it’
8. ‘Devil daddy’
1. Sense of the liminality of the characters. On the edge of society and divided 9. ‘as scared as if I had raised a goblin’
from civilisation. 10. ‘the scoundrel had the impudence to embrace her’
2. Sense of terror. Fear of the unknown (in this case, what has happened to 11. ‘I grow madder after sending him to heaven!’
Hindley at Wuthering Heights). 12. ‘Your presence is a moral poison’
3. Pathetic fallacy – the weather foreshadows the reception Nelly receives when 13. ‘this lamb of yours threatens like a bull’ / ‘one’s weak nature, and the
she arrives at Wuthering Heights. Also reflects Hindley’s future now other’s bad one’
Heathcliff has returned. 14. ‘she flung it into the hottest part of the fire’ / ‘Heavens!’ / ‘By Hell, no!’
4. Element of the arcane. Visions and dreams work as a contrast with the sense 15. ‘I’ll try to break their hearts by breaking my own’
of reality Emily Bronte constantly draws the reader back to. 16. ‘my passionate temper, verging, when kindled, on frenzy’
5. Element of death. Links to element of the arcane. Supernatural warnings of 17. ‘ your veins are full of ice-water – but mine are boiling’
the impending future. 18. ‘It was enough to try the temper of a saint, such senseless, wicked
6. Vague line between reality and the imagination. The child Nelly sees in her rages!’
imagination becomes real. 19. ‘dashing’ / ‘grinding’ / ‘crash’
7. Violence – element of violence is common in the gothic. Creates a sense of
horror due to the physical pain one expects to feel, but also a sense of terror
because violence can be so unpredictable. Also, violence in a child so young
(Hareton) is an extremely disturbing thought.
8. Religious references. Hindley is referred to as the devil by his own son, even
though compared to Heathcliff he is less of a danger to Hareton.
9. Heathcliff is represented as an embodiment of the devil, which furthers the
element of the arcane within the novel.
10. Sexuality is a large feature of gothic literature and here Heathcliff can be seen
to be using his sexual powers on Isabella Linton. He ultimately uses these
powers to destroy her.
11. Contrasts and oppositions – Heathcliff talks of sending Linton to heaven (by
killing him). The very act would land Heathcliff in hell which helps to
emphasise the direct contrasts between the two characters.
12. Heathcliff is depicted as the cause of the breakdown of society’s conventions
and morals. This also has religious connotations, as Heathcliff is once again
suggested to be the devil.
13. Again, the stark contrast between the natures of Heathcliff and Linton is
shown. Also, both are shown to be the extreme. There is no happy medium,
which fits the conventions of gothic literature, as everything is pushed to the
limit.
14. References to heaven and hell are repeated throughout the chapter. Cathy
 can be seen to send herself to hell by her passion.
15. Revenge - In the heat of the moment Cathy can be seen to resolve to exact her
revenge on Heathcliff and Linton by slowly killing herself.
16. Element of insanity can be seen throughout the remainder of the chapter.
17. Use of oppositions again but this time between Linton and Cathy. Cathy here
shows herself to be better suited to Heathcliff than Linton.
18. Use of contrast between religion and immorality.
19. Emphasis on the subtle line between sanity and insanity. How quickly Cathy
goes from domestic bliss to insanity.

12 Catherine finally lets Nelly into her room but she is half starved
and delirious. 1. ‘the Grange had but one sensible soul in its walls’
Nelly stays with her all evening while she raves. 2. ‘her ghastly countenance, and strange exaggerated manner’
Edgar Linton discovers the state his wife is in and blames Nelly. 3. ‘thick entangled locks’
When Nelly goes to fetch the doctor for Cathy her suspicions are 4. ‘If I were only sure it would kill him… I’d kill myself directly!’
raised that Isabelle has run away with Heathcliff and when she 5. ‘I’ve been tormented! I’ve been haunted’
returns she realises she has. 6. ‘then raising herself up all burning’
Linton disowns Isabella from his family. 7. ‘A minute previously she was violent; now, … she seemed to find childish
diversion in pulling feathers’
1. There is the suggestion that all who live on the bleak and desolate mores 8. ‘Heathcliff set a trap over it, and the old ones dare not come’
are insane, and it is near impossible to live a civilised life in such a 9. ‘I dread sleeping, my dreams appal me.’
remote and baron place. 10. ‘utter blackness overwhelmed me’
2. More references to the wildness of Cathy. 11. ‘wildly wretched’
3. The description of Cathy’s hair indicates how she has returned to being 12. ‘an exile, and outcast, thenceforth, from what had been my world’
wild. Edgar domesticated her briefly but when Heathcliff returned he 13. ‘And that wind sounding in the firs…’ ‘Do let me feel it’
turned her back into a wild creature. 14. ‘I’m burning!’
4. Reference again to the revenge Cathy wishes to exact, only now it is 15. ‘There was no moon, and every thing beneath lay in misty darkness’
directed at Linton only. 16. ‘I won’t rest until you are with me… I never will!’
5. References of the arcane and of the ghosts that haunt Cathy. Also 17. ‘but in the open air with a head-stone’
foreshadowing of how Cathy will haunt Heathcliff after her death. 18. ‘you are acquainted with the Earnshaw’s violent disposition, and Mrs
6. Indications of Heathcliff’s sexual nature and the power he has over Cathy. Linton caps them all.’ / ‘a tempest of passion with a kind of fit’ / ‘she
By returning, Heathcliff has re-awoken Cathy’s desire and wild nature. alternately raves, and remains in a half dream’
7. The sudden oppositions in how Cathy is described help to emphasise her 19. ‘Yon’ Heathcliff’s run off wi’ her!’ / ‘Heathcliff held both bridles as they
insanity, and the sense of uncertainty that accompanies that insanity. rode on’
8. Metaphor for the power Heathcliff has over Cathy, and for how he has
trapped her affections. As a result, she can only truly love him and Edgar
can no longer reach her.
9. Cathy cannot sleep because of the nightmares that are haunting her. Fits
with the gothic convention that only the innocent sleep, while the guilty
are tormented by their dreams.
10. Heathcliff has reclaimed Cathy and in a way, he has exacted his revenge
 on her, even if he may not have intended to do so.
11. Cathy can be seen to be punished for her transgressions, as is common of
the gothic female character. However, Cathy caused her own suffering by
making herself ill and, although this was because of the fight between her
husband and Heathcliff, she cannot really be called a victim.
12. Reference to the liminal – Cathy does not belong at Thrushcross Grange,
or with Linton. She belongs with Heathcliff.
13. Pathetic fallacy – the disturbing wind is Heathcliff. It is frightening but
something she craves.
14. Indication that Cathy is in hell. She is being punished for her wildness,
but she has punished herself by refusing food.
15. Pathetic fallacy – the lack of moon reflects the lack of hope and light in
Cathy’s life. Heathcliff has returned and brought with him darkness, evil
and desire.
16. Elements of the supernatural – Cathy refuses to be at peace until
Heathcliff has joined her.
17. Cathy shows her wild nature by requesting to be buried out on the
moors. Also indicates the liminal element of gothic literature as she
refuses to be placed with her family, but on her own on the moors.
18. References again to Cathy’s madness and insanity. Also, the element of
repetition/doppelganger throughout the family tree (their insanity).
19. Sense of the possession of women as if they were objects.
13 - Epistolary- the chapter is mostly narrated by Isabella as it is her letter to 1. “denominated a brain fever”
Nelly about running away with Heathcliff. She hates him. Letter 2. “He is clearly on the verge of madness”
describes: her first encounter of wuthering heights and those that live 3. “if so is he mad?”
there. 4. “as if we lived in an ancient castle”
- Heathcliff is often compared to a vampire. Sucking blood – taking their 5. “Four miles distant lay my delightful home… there might be the
life. Also sex and sexual desire, sexual maturity and awakening. Christ’s Atlantic to part us”
blood, sinful. 6. “The floor had grown a uniform grey… once brilliant pewter dishes…
- Cathy has begun to recover from a brain fever, we discover that she is partook of a similar obscurity, created to tarnish and dusk.”
pregnant so she has to get better in order to protect the growth of the 7. “his eyes too, were like a ghostly Catherine’s”
child. 8. “Where is the maid servant? Direct me to her”
- Supernatural due to the sheer number of voices and narration. Nelly, 9. “he replied in jargon I did not comprehend”
Lockwood etc. 10. “How powerful I should be by possessing such an instrument”
- Heathcliff see’s taking Isabella as the first step of revenge.
- Contrasts between Heathcliff and Hindley on emerging from the loss of
their love. Heathcliff’s strength outline’s the contrast between the love
between Hindley and Frances and Cathy and Heathcliff. The latter is
almost beyond the norms of society.
 1. About Cathy’s health
2. about Mr Earnshaw
3. Isabella about Heathcliff. She is questioning him, she went into the
relationship thinking it was love, however he does not understand her
societal understanding of love. He is wild and unruly. Mad Heathcliff has
a good understanding of society however he does this regardless.
4. (Isabella) description of Wuthering Heights. Taking the mick out of
Wuthering Heights and sneering at Heathcliff? It’s a barrier. It stops the
outer world getting in and the inner world getting out. Metaphorical gate
– gate is opened and desire is allowed through. However Isabella is the
persecuted maiden locked behind the gates of the castle. Contrast
between culture and nature. Cathy and Isabella are women of their
setting. Cathy wishes to be at Wuthering Heights where she is free
however Isabella wishes to be at Thrush cross Grange.
5. Emphasises marginalisation. Lack of power/ freedom.
6. Something is missing from Wuthering Heights since the absence of love
and passion. When Catherine and Hareton marry this is returned. Shows
absence of love between Heathcliff and Isabella. He knows that if Cathy
and Edgar don’t have a son, he will get Thrushcross Grange. Purely
tactical, he is playing culture.
7. Description of Mr Earnshaw, foreshadows Cathy’s death.
8. Isabella has been brought up to be a woman and is pretty helpless. She
can’t do anything for herself. Cathy is expected to have been brought up
in the same way but hasn’t – she has more power and can slowly kill
herself. Isabella has no one loving her yet Cathy has two. Isabella has no
power because she has nothing to work with, like when Cathy starves
herself for Edgar and Heathcliff’s attention.
9. Differences between her and Heathcliff. Nature and culture.
10. Isabella has reached out and touched the gun attached to Heathcliff’s
waist. This phallic representation Isabella’s grasp at masculinity, as she
craves the power and the freedom. She is trapped at Wuthering Heights.

14 - Nelly talks about her visit to see Isabella

- She arrives with no letter for Isabella
- Isabella is in a liminal state. She doesn’t belong at Wuthering Heights yet
she is no longer welcome at Thrushcross Grange.

1. Heathcliff’s behaviour towards Isabella, makes her feel isolated.

2. Nelly’s description of Wuthering Heights, again the absence of love.
3. Heathcliff talking about what he would do to Edgar. Vampire
 connotations.
4. Comparison to Cathy’s wild and vitalised hair. Cathy is strong enough to
handle Wuthering Heights; Isabella is too innocent and fragile.
5. Heathcliff could not bear the thought of a life without Cathy.
6. Isabella is completely helpless. She is a completely reliant character who
is by no means independent.
7. Heathcliff has suddenly risen through the social ranks and actually
appears more together than his bride. He is a stark contrast to his
surroundings.
8. Even being ill in a different household affects Heathcliff, Cathy knows the
force she has over both Edgar and Heathcliff.
Vol 1. The use of the word ‘seize’, having an undertone of aggression, force and
II possession suggests the idea that Catherine is the only character that can
1 fully dominate Heathcliff. She does not grasp any of his limbs, but rather
the hair on his head, creating a successful form of domination entailing
him to struggle greatly to free from her grip.
2. Heathcliff’s action of kneeling suggests his submission towards Cathy,
similar to a servant required to kneel in front of royalty.
3. The assonance create from the word broken emphasises how the
characters have emotionally suffered in the novel. The idea of in Cathy
breaking her own heart she has broken Heathcliff’s re-enforces this idea
of ‘one soul’.
4. This foreshadows Cathy’s time of death is soon to come. The word fated
denotes that she or in fact anyone else can do absolutely nothing about it.
5. The amount of passion combined with pain makes the readers feel
sympathetic towards Cathy even though at the same time some readers
might reject her as a character.
6. Idea of hermit and destination from the idea of fate. She is a prisoner of
fate – the only way she can escape is death.
7. Heathcliff forgives her for what she has done to him, but that he can
never forgive her for what she has done to herself. Heathcliff’s response
demonstrates that he not only loves Cathy more than anything, he loves
her more than he loves himself.
8. Repetition of d emphasises both destruction and desire, also hell
imagery. Possessed by the devil as she wishes not to go to heaven?
9. This reminds the reader that Cathy and Heathcliff are not at church
whilst the others are. Not only does this reinforce the sense that they feel
almost above religion, but also the sin if anyone found Cathy in her
nightgown clutching another man - suggesting of adultery could be
raised.
1. “…seized his hair, and kept him down”.
2. “..knelt on one knee to embrace her”
3. “I have not broken your heart – you have broken it – and in breaking it,
you have broken mine.”
4. “She was fated, sure to die”.
5. “It’s hard to forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted
hands”.
6. “being kept prisoner to fate”
7. “I love my murderer – but yours? How can I?”
8. “are you possessed with the devil?” “dying” “deeper”
9. “Gimmerton chapel bells were ringing”
10. “I shall not be at peace”
11. “…think I feel the same distress underground, and for my own sake,
forgive me!”
12. “That is not my Heathcliff, I shall love mine yet; and take him with me –
he’s in my soul”.
13. “The think that irks me most is this shattering prison.”
14. “I’m tired, tired of being enclosed here. I’m wearying to escape into that
glorious world, and to be always there; not seeing it dimly through
tears, and yearning it through the walls of an aching heart; but really
with it”.
15. “Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy? I have not one word of
comfort, you deserve this”.
16. “Because misery, and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or
Satan could inflict would have parted us”
17. “Would you like to live with your soul in the grave?”
18. “Will you ruin her, because she has not wit to help herself?”
“‘She’s fainted or dead’ I thought; ‘so much the better. Far better that she
should be dead, than lingering a burden and a misery-maker to all about her’ “
 10. Cathy sees the afterlife not in heaven but she wishes to wander the
moors once again.
11. Christian? Seems to be blasphemous as Cathy is asking Heathcliff for
forgiveness as if he is above and more important that the forgiveness
Cathy would ask God for.
12. Cathy is almost separating who Heathcliff was when they were younger
and what he has become. There is also another reference to the soul, and
suggesting that her and Heathcliff are one.
13. The idea of the prison encapsulated Cathy’s frustration and agony at
being closed in at Thrushcross Grange. This also connotes to her life as a
woman within the historical time of the story. Being a woman she is
supressed, thus life is just a restrictive prison to her.
14. Cathy is longing for the moors again, and to be always there highlights the
liminal as she will eternally haunt the mores and never truly reach
heaven or hell. However this is where she wants to be in the glorious
world that she sees the moors to be.
15. Cathy has destroyed not only herself but also Heathcliff, however he
believes she deserves no easing of guilt as she was at the forefront of her
own downfall.
16. Heathcliff and Cathy belong in neither heaven nor hell; there existence
will always be in a form of purgatory – the liminal. Again, there is the
essence that they are above religion.

2
3  Isabella runs away from Wuthering Heights and tells Nelly what’s
happened there
 Hindley had not gone to Catherine’s funeral, Heathcliff had been by
her grave
 Hindley locked Heathcliff out of the house and planned to shoot him
 Heathcliff forced his way in and beat Hindley
 Isabella reminds Hindley of the night before, they fight again (H + H)
 Isabella fled to the Grange and then left for London. She had a son,
Linton, but died when he was twelve years old
 Hindley Earnshaw dies six months after Cathy
 Heathcliff becomes master of the heights, Hareton is treated as a
slave

‘That Friday made the last of our fine days, for a month’, ‘rain, first, and then
Gothic Features sleet, and then snow’
 Chapter begins negatively, is foreshadowing of death. Pathetic fallacy
 used to heighten the foreboding beginning of the chapter.
 Isabella represented as a doppelganger of Cathy? She is hysterical when
she enters the Grange (like Cathy when she died) and is described
almost ghost-like
 Gender roles are questioned. Isabella runs away from Heathcliff which
was against the ‘norm’ in that time. She pulls the knife out that Heathcliff
has thrown at her, brave?
 Strong contrast between Isabella’s character and the description Nelly
gives us of her… unreliable narrator?
 Repetition of ‘escape’ suggests Heathcliff’s power and control over
people but also depicts the Heights as a prison, symbolises isolation.
 Vast amount of religious language used, mostly to describe Heathcliff.
Isabella describes leaving the heights as ‘deliverance’ (The Lord’s Prayer
[deliver us from evil…]?)
 Character construction of Heathcliff; hear of a different side of him. Do
we feel sorry for him? The use of ‘blood’ connotes the loss of passion
since Cathy’s death.
 Strong contrast between Heathcliff and Edgar’s mourning for Cathy,
which is true love? The fact that Heathcliff keeps ‘guard’ over her grave
suggests immense grief, he longs for her to come back.
 Another doppelganger effect with young Catherine seems unlike Cathy in
looks but the use of the names relates to her.
 Suspicion surrounding Hindley’s death… did Heathcliff kill him? Creates
tension and anxiety for the readers.
 Escapism leads to death. Gender role was questioned with Isabella
running away, but the fact that she dies, leaving a child, suggests that she
could never truly get away from Heathcliff.
 The corrupted child: although Hareton has already been somewhat
monopolised by Heathcliff, the chapter ends with Heathcliff having
complete control of him. Begs the question of why Heathcliff wants
Hareton… resemblance to Cathy?
4 Dreams/reality
 Cathy hears of fairy caves at nearby Penistone Crags, and persistently
asks to visit. However Edgar refuses for her to leave the Grange
unattended.
 Cathy eventually escapes and plays with Hareton on the moors, even
‘Except where I’ve flown’, ‘a white face’
‘but pulling it out, I sprang to the door’, ‘I bounded, leaped, and flew down the
steep road’
‘a frame hardly able to support itself through fatique’, ‘she certainly seemed
in no laughing predicament’
‘I inquired what had urged her to escape from Wuthering Heights’,
‘marvelling that I had escaped so easily’, ‘you’re a free woman’
‘his wicked head!’, ‘that I now think so diabolical’, ‘the clouded windows of
hell’, ‘this season of deliverance’
‘and wept tears of blood for Catherine’, ‘sealed in an expression of
unspeakable sadness’, ‘his lips devoid of their ferocious sneer’
‘He didn’t pray for Catherine’s soul to haunt him’, ‘I’d go stretch myself over
her grave, and die like a faithful dog’
‘his attachment sprang from its relation to her, far more than from its being
his own’
‘un he warn’t deead when Aw left’, ‘it was useless making more stir about
him!’
‘it is utterly impossible I can ever be revenged’, ‘But I’ll have it[…] when I
want it’
‘I knocked over Hareton, who was hanging a litter of puppies from a chair’,
‘reduced to a state of complete dependence’, ‘his ignorance that he has been
wronged’
 “Ellen, how long will it be before I can walk to the top of those hills? I
wonder what lies on the other side”
 “they are not worth the trouble of visiting”
 “the naughty thing never made her appearance at tea”
 though she was warned not to leave the Grange.
Concealment/ truth
 When Cathy is at Wuthering Heights with Hareton, she is told that he
isn’t the son of the master of wuthering heights
 Shortly after, she is told that Hareton is actually her cousin
 Nelly and Cathy agree not to tell Linton about her trip to Wuthering
Heights
Life/death/escapism
 Edgar leaves Nelly responsible for Cathy whilst he visits Isabella in
London who is dying
 Isabella is escaping Heathcliff’s presence
Generation repetition
 Cathy grows into a beautiful, sweet, intelligent 13 year old but could also
be bold.
 A mixture of both the Earnshaws and the Linton’s
 Similarities of Catherine, her mother
Denial and un-acceptance
 Even though Cathy did resemble her mother, Nelly was unable to accept
this. She believes that she brought Cathy up herself, and after Catherine’s
dead was the happiest twelve years of her life
Childhood
 Early days of Cathy’s childhood were unloving and unaffectionate,
however after the next six months, the love and affection was there
because of Nelly’s presence and mother-figure
Contradicting and unreliable narrator
 Nelly refers to Cathy as sweet and caring, however when she escapes to
Wuthering Heights, Nelly becomes incredibly irrational
 ‘Who is his master? ...I thought he had been the owner’s son. And he
never said, miss; he should have done...if he’s a servant?’
 Though Mr Hareton, there, be not the masters son, he’s your cousin,
and I was never hired to serve you’
 I had, to obtain a promise that she would not lay the grievance before
her father
 What her last illness was, I am not certain; I conjecture, they died of the
same thing, a kind of fever, slow at its commencement, but incurable.’
 ‘in his absence…she must not wander out of the park, even under my
escort’
 With the Earnshaws handsome dark eyes, but the Linton’s fair skin and
small features, and yellow curling hair
 That capacity for intense attachments reminded me of her mother
 Still, she did not resemble her...her anger was never furious, her love
never fierce; it was deep and tender
 Blossomed a second time over Mrs Linton’s dust.
 My greatest troubles…rose from our little lady’s trifling illnesses.
 After the first six months, she grew like a larch
 ‘I’ll not trust you over the threshold again, you naughty, naughty girl.’
 ‘Oh, for shame. Thirteen years old, and such a baby!’
 It’s a wild road over the hill’
  How long am I to wait?...it will be dark in ten minutes
 The villagers affirmed Mr Heathcliff was near
Setting  The master was too gloomy to seek companionship
 I walked as if for a wager, mile after mile, till a turn brought me in view
 When Cathy was on the hills, it is referred to as ‘wild.’ This reflects terror, of the heights, but no Catherine could I detect, far or near’
but also adds to the superstition of the Moors
 When Nelly is at Wuthering Heights, it is said to go dark in ten minutes
which again adds mystery to the rest of the chapter. Is Heathcliff about to
return?

Vocabulary

 ‘Gloomy’ reflects anger and darkness of Heathcliff.

 Description when searching for Cathy adds suspense and mystery
5
6
7  Cathy goes out on the moors on her sixteenth birthday with Nelly and 1. “‘I didn’t! I didn’t!’ sobbed Cathy, fit to break her heart”
they run into Heathcliff, who invites them to the Heights. She meets
Linton again, but their plans to meet up in the future are thwarted. “‘I will have one, you cruel wretch!’ she screamed, darting her hand into the
 Cathy is thrilled to find that Linton and Heathcliff live so close and is fire, and drawing forth some half consumed fragments, at the expense of her
irritated Nelly did not tell her about them. fingers”
 Rather than keep the visit a secret, Cathy announces it to her father the
next day. Edgar tells Cathy about Heathcliff’s true past and why she was  “But he’s no fool; and I can sympathise with all his feelings, having felt them
not told that he lives close. myself”
 Cathy begins to write letters to Linton in secret, delivered by the milk-
fetcher. Once Nelly finds out about the letters and confronts Cathy, she 2. “Now here is the babyish trash. I’m going with it to the library; and we’ll
discovers that Cathy is apparently in love with Linton. see what your father says to such loving”
 Nelly burns the letters and puts an end to the correspondence. Cathy
becomes vacant and despondent. “‘We don’t send playthings!’ cried Catherine, her pride overcoming her shame”

1. Generational repetition becomes extremely obvious in this chapter.
Cathy and Linton get on very well together and wish to spend more time
in the company of the other although they have been told not to, thus
imitating Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship. She claims that she is in
love with him even though she has only met him twice, showing
extremes of emotion she feels for him. Cathy’s love for Linton seems
just as strong as her mother’s love for Heathcliff. She is willing to put
herself through pain to carry on the relationship, yet is too afraid for her
father to find out. Appears that she is still bound by her position as a
child but is beginning to feel mature emotions.
 Linton also epitomises generational repetition: Heathcliff understands
“But when I proceeded to open a place with a poker, the sacrifice was too
painful to be borne”
 “‘Loving!’ cried I, as scornfully as I could utter the word. ‘Loving!’ Did
anybody ever hear the like!”
3. “No, it was not because I disliked Mr Heathcliff, but because Mr Heathcliff
dislikes me; and is a most diabolical man, delighting to wrong and ruin
those he hates… … I knew that you could not keep up an acquaintance with
your cousin, without being brought into contact with him; and I knew he
 Linton’s feelings because he has been in the same position would detest you, on my account”

“In his eyes, Heathcliff seemed a murderer”

2. Nelly dismisses Cathy’s love as simple immaturity, despite protests. Cathy
can be seen mourning the loss of love that she experiences, although it
was a seemingly childish game of passing on letters. However it affects
Cathy much stronger than expected, and the form of love that develops
between Cathy and Linton becomes particularly ambiguous and
difficult to define, since there are both mature and childlike elements to
it.
 Inarguably, Cathy claims that she loves Linton. This in itself is a
particularly difficult notion to analyse, since it can be seen as mature in
the sense that love itself is something usually seen as being mature.
However, she has had no other experience of romantic love or even
male interaction in her life, and hence her idea of love is less likely to be
skewed into being something immature.
 “She appeared so deeply impressed and shocked at this view of human nature
─ excluded from all her studies and all her ideas till now ─ that Mr Edgar
deemed it unnecessary to pursue the subject”
4. “There is no clause in the will to secure it so: his property would go to me,
but, to prevent disputes, I desire their union, and am resolved to bring it
about”
 “My young lady gave him several looks, as if she could not exactly make up
her mind what to think of him; but now he smiled when her met her eye, and
softened his voice in addressing her; and I was foolish enough to imagine the
memory of her mother might disarm him from desiring her injury”

3. Cathy is more vexed than upset when she finds out that Nelly and Edgar
had been hiding the fact that Wuthering Heights is not far away from
Trushcross Grange; however there is seemingly good reason behind it.
Heathcliff is portrayed by Edgar as being a threat to Cathy and that it
would be a grave mistake for her to converse with Linton, since he has
been brought up by Heathcliff and has shown signs of growing up to be
like Heathcliff himself. Bronteë uses intense and violent language to
portray Heathcliff as somewhat of a villain from Edgar’s perspective
 Often in Romantic literature, the female character would be scared and
fear the male antagonist such as Heathcliff. However, Cathy disregards
gender roles as she becomes somewhat fascinated by the immorality
and corruption that is Heathcliff.

4. Heathcliff reveals that he wants Cathy and Linton to get married. He also
confides in Nelly and tells her that he only wants the two to marry so that
he can secure his ownership of Thrushcross Grange. Nelly challenges him
and says that if Linton were to die, the property would go to Cathy.
Heathcliff argues back that it would not, as it has not been stated in
 Edgar’s will that it would. He lies and says that the only reason he wants
them to wed is to avoid any disputes: Heathcliff’s corrupted and
egotistic nature is as obvious as ever, although there seems to remain
some feelings of emotion within him, since he trusts Nelly with
something that could potentially have a negative result for him if it goes
awry.
 Heathcliff becomes a lot more friendly and pleasant when he begins to
talk to Cathy, as if he was speaking to a child. It is clear to the reader that
his only reason for talking to her in this manner is to formulate his plan
that consists mainly of revenge. Speaking in this way makes him seem
materialistic and avaricious.

8  Two or three months pass, and Edgar has fallen ill with a cold. Nelly takes 1. “the cold, blue sky was half hidden by clouds – dark grey streamers,
Cathy out for a walk on the moors in an attempt to cheer her up after her rapidly mounting from the west, and boding abundant rain”
romance has ended.
 During the walk, Cathy runs into Heathcliff, who scolds her for not “‘Look, Miss!’ I exclaimed, pointing to a nook under the roots of one of one
sending any more letters to Linton, and claims he is troubled and twisted tree. ‘Winter is not here yet. There’s a little flower, up yonder, the
distraught because of it. last bud from the multitude of bluebells”
 Nelly and Cathy return home and Nelly promises to take Cathy to
Wuthering Heights the next day.  “her hat fell off; and as the door was locked she proposed scrambling
down to recover it. I bid her be cautious lest she got a fall, and she nimbly
1. The seasons and weather are used in this chapter to convey the
disappeared”
sense of loss that Cathy feels since she ceased to write to Linton. The
chapter is set during autumn, which forebodes death to come later in
2. “I presume you grew weary of the amusement and dropped it, didn’t
the novel. Nelly’s attempts to cheer up Cathy seem feeble and
lacklustre in the midst of such a season, and while her father is ill. you? …He was in earnest: in love, really. As true as I live, he’s dying for
 Cathy shows a connection to nature in the sense that she is you; breaking his heart at your fickleness: not figuratively, but
adventurous and exploratory, she does not hesitate in climbing actually”
over a wall and around foliage in order to fetch her hat when she
 “Well, you have dropped Linton with it, into a Slough of Despond”
loses it. It is this somewhat masculine personality trait which
eventually leads her into the path of Heathcliff. 3. “my young lady, lightening into sunshine again, climbed up, and seated
herself of top of the wall, reaching over to gather some hips that
2. Heathcliff criticises Cathy for not writing to Linton, and claims that
bloomed scarlet on the summit branches of the wild rose trees”
he is dying of a broken heart, a strong piece of imagery that
insinuates the absence of love and an overwrought emotional
 “What use were anger and protestations against her silly credulity? …I
response, regardless of whether it was true or not. This image also
mocks Romantic literature and Linton is seen as possessing these couldn’t bear to witness her sorrow: to see her pale, dejected countenance,
feminine qualities.
  Bronteë borrows religious imagery from the 17th Century and heavy eyes”
Christian allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress to portray the deep
4. “‘How can you lie so glaringly to the poor child!’ I called from the
sense of sadness that Heathcliff claims Linton is feeling at Cathy’s
inside. ‘Pray ride on! How can you deliberately get up to such paltry
lack of communication with him. The Slough of Despond is a
falsehoods?’”
deep bog which the main character has to cross in the novel to
reach Heaven, and it is now used as a idiom for a state of extreme “‘Worthy Mrs Dean, I like you, but I don’t’ like your double dealing… How
depression or misery could you lie so glaringly, as to affirm I hated the “poor child” and invent
bugbear stories to terrify her from my door-stones?’”
3. This chapter takes place on the edge of the boundaries of
Thrushcross Grange, right on the garden wall. The walls indicate a
“‘Come in’, said I, taking Cathy by the arm and half forcing her to re-enter;
feeling of imprisonment, yet Cathy seems to have no problem
overcoming this both physical and emotional boundary as she for she lingered, viewing with troubled eyes the features of the speaker, too
scales the wall to retrieve her hat. Yet on the other side of the wall is stern to express his inward deceit”
Heathcliff, which shows that the Grange can be seen as a place of
safety for Cathy, away from the terrors of the world. However, later in
the chapter Cathy persuades Nelly to take her to Wuthering Heights
the next day.
 Cathy has many conflicting personality traits. She appears
both masculine and girlish and different points in this chapter.
Her female qualities seem to enable Nelly to rationalise with her
and her decisions, while she is often seen acting boyish to show
how she is not bound by the borders set by Edgar and Nelly.

4. Corruption and deception plays a great role in this chapter.

Heathcliff attempts to convince Cathy that she is guilty that Linton is
dying, while Nelly is attempting to convince her that what Heathcliff
is saying is not true. Cathy feels a sense of guilt and responsibility
for Linton’s state. This upsets her and spurs her to visit the Heights
the next day, which in turn progresses the story and brings about the
events that occur at the Heights between Linton and Cathy in the next
chapter. Nelly can tell after Cathy has spoken to Heathcliff that she
has believed every word he said, even after she had gone to such
lengths to save her from hearing what Heathcliff had to say
(smashing the lock of the door with a rock). Nelly’s determination in
this manner hints that Cathy is still living the relatively sheltered
lifestyle of a young girl even though she is not far from being an
adult.

9  Catherine and Nelly ride in the rain to Wuthering Heights, where they 1. “The rainy night had ushered in a misty morning – half frost, half
 find Linton engaged in his customary whining. drizzle”.
 He speaks to Catherine about the possibility of marriage. Annoyed, 2. “Joseph seemed sitting in a sort of elysium alone, beside a roaring fire”.
Catherine shoves his chair in a fit of temper. 3. “Na-ay! Yah muh goa back whear yah coom frough”
 Linton begins to cough and says that Catherine has assaulted him and 4. “Oh, I hope you’ll die in a garret!”
has injured his already fragile health. 5. “No – don’t kiss me. It takes my breath”
 He fills Catherine with guilt and requests that she nurse him back to 6. “Will you shut the door…”
health herself. 7. “It tired me dreadfully, writing those long letters”
 After Nelly and Catherine ride home, Nelly discovers that she has caught 8. “But I have been vexed, because you wouldn’t come…”
a cold from travelling in the rain. 9. “I wish you would say Catherine, or Cathy!”
 Catherine nurses both her father and Nelly during the day, but, by night, 10. “…but he goes onto the moors frequently”
she begins travelling in secret to be with Linton. 11. “No! I should never love anybody more than papa”.
12. “Linton denied that people ever hated their wives”.
13. “I endeavoured to stop her thoughtless tongue”
1. This use of pathetic fallacy accurately depicts Nelly’s mood, as she feels 14. “He sighed and moaned like one under great suffering… on purpose to
‘cross and low’ because she must make the journey to Wuthering heights distress his cousin”.
for Catherine’s sake. Strong sense of how Nelly sees the occasion, as we 15. “You’re not much are you Linton?”
know that Catherine is excited to see Linton. Also reinforces the longing 16. “I hope you are satisfied Miss Cathy, that you are not the person to
that Catherine has for the Heights, doppelganger of her mother. benefit him”.
2. It’s odd that Nelly describes Joseph to be in a state of perfect happiness 17. “The Grange is not a prison, Ellen, and you are not my jailer”.
when he is such an angry presence at the Heights. The reader can see 18. “But sitting such a while at the heights had done the mischief”.
past Nelly’s narration. Also Elysium has religions connotations as it is the 19. “I remarked a fresh colour in her cheeks, and a pinkness over her
place where Gods sent heroes to at the end of the earth after death. Is slender fingers; instead of fancying the hue borrowed from a cold ride
this because Joseph is strong enough to survive the inevitable death across the moors, I laid it to the charge of a hot fire in the library”.
sentence the Heights gives?
3. Strong sense of separation between the two households, contrast
between the educated background at the Grange that Catherine has
grown used to.
4. Reference to ‘locking the wife in the attic’ found in Jayne Eyre (gothic
text). Linton is angry that he has not been visited by Catherine. Also we
get the sense that Heathcliff’s brutal behaviour is starting to rub off on
Linton.
5. Kiss of death. As well as reinforcing Linton’s weakness (he is too weak to
survive the heights) he is also suggesting that Catherine is the devil?
6. Deaths door?
7. Can’t help but comparing his unenthusiastic approach to he and
Catherine’s relationship to Cathy and Heathcliff’s. Heathcliff visited
Thrushcross Grange to see his love and Linton can barely pick up a pen.
Not a good match?
8. Victorian associations with death and the devil. Linton is continuously
rude to Catherine, perhaps due to the absence of women at Wuthering
Heights? Again forced to notice the contrasts and draw comparisons
 between the two. (Gothic feature).
9. We are reminded of a softer side of Heathcliff. He is on the moors to be
with Cathy, whose soul he believes to still rest there.
10. Doppelganger? Also Catherine’s frustration of still being called Miss
Linton by Linton. Lack of intimacy?
11. Still a traditional loyalty to her father.
12. Linton is an extremely hypocritical character. Despite asking Catherine to
marry him, he has relentlessly insulted her. Demonstration of woman’s
position in marriage but also a STARK contrast to Edgar’s treatment of
Cathy.
13. Reminded of Cathy and her lack of reserve in her speech. Like Nelly is
bringing up the same girl – doppelganger apparent.
14. Much like Cathy to Heathcliff, and later on in the chapter Nelly to
Catherine, there is the power of illness in gaining attention.
15. Linton is a frail and weak character. However his personality is
contrasting. This is emphasised throughout the chapter as we jump
between his brutality and his frail physical condition.
16. Inspires discussion of ‘suitors’. Such as the failing relationships of
Isabella and Heathcliff because they were unbalanced forces. Same here?
17. Catherine has broken free of what her mother felt when she was at
Thrushcross Grange, imprisoned by Nelly not to see Heathcliff.
18. Everyone gets ill at the heights! Nelly has become too accustomed to life
at Thrushcross Grange.
19. We clearly know more than the narrator, but it is odd that Nelly who
appears to be such an old as wise character can be so naïëve.

10  After Nelly recuperates, she notices Catherine’s suspicious behaviour and
quickly discovers where she has been spending her evenings.
 Catherine tells Nelly the story of her visits to Wuthering Heights,
including one incident in which Hareton proves to her that he can read a
name inscribed above the manor’s entrance: it is his own name, carved
by a distant ancestor who shared it. But Catherine asks if he can read the
date and he must confess that he cannot. Catherine calls him a dunce.
 Enraged, Hareton interrupts her visit with Linton, bullying him and
forcing him to go upstairs. He attempts to then apologise for his
behaviour, but Catherine ignores him and goes home.
 When she returns to Wuthering Heights a few days later, Linton blames
her for his humiliation. She leaves, but she returns two days later to tell
him that she will never visit him again. Linton asks for her forgiveness.
 After she has heard Catherine’s story, Nelly tells Edgar. Edgar
immediately forbids her from visiting Linton again, but he agrees to
1. “She consented rather unwillingly, I fancied”.
2. “…extinguished my candle, and seated myself in the window.” And
“Cathy entered by the casement window”.
3. “…You know you have been doing wrong, or you wouldn’t be driven to
uttering an untruth to me”.
4. “I needn’t repeat that, because you’d call it silly”.
5. “… on a bank of heath in the middle of the moors, with the bees
humming dreamily about the bloom”.
6. “…perfect idea of heaven’s happiness”
7. “He wanted all to lie in an ecstacy of peace; I wanted all to sparkle, and
dance in glorious jubilee. I said his heaven would be only half alive; and
he said mine would be drunk: I said I should fall asleep in his; and he
said he could not breathe in mine..."
8. “..began to grow very snappish” and "He'll never let his friends be at
ease, and he'll never be at ease himself!"
 invite Linton to come to Thrushcross Grange. 9. “One was marked C and the other H.”
10. “…it was a praiseworthy ambition for him to desire to be as
accomplished as Linton”.
1. Nelly is quite an unpleasant character. In previous chapters she burnt 11. “Devil! Devil!”
Catherine’s love letters in front of her and tried to prevent her from 12. “…blood gushed from his mouth, and he fell on the ground”
visiting Linton. Even though she is only mildly irritating Catherine it 13. “She was milking the cows in a shed behind the barn”
arguably creates a negative relationship with the narrator, which affects 14. “I sobbed and wept so much that my eyes were almost blind”
our interpretation of the narration. 15. “But I was strangely excited, and dreaded to hear Linton was dead”.
2. Reminded of Nelly when she is sat in Cathy’s room as she becomes 16. “…do me this justice…”
progressively worse in her illness but begs Nelly to be out on the moors. 17. “… yet I was sorry that Linton had that distorted nature”.
Catherine is actually there, with the window being the barrier between 18. “…now, with his selfishness and spite; and now with his sufferings: but
where she is and what she must face when she returns home. I’ve learnt to endure the former with nearly as little resentment as the
Suggestions that Catherine is escaping to the heights just as her mother latter”.
wished to, stronger character? (Edgar and Cathy alliance made a stronger 19. “Catherine learnt my betrayal”
product?). Contrast between Catherine and her mother. …”but explaining that he must no longer to expect to see Catherine at
3. Religion and sin. Though Nelly is hypocritical and she has done her fair Wuthering Heights. Perhaps, had he been aware of his nephew’s disposition
share of ‘uttering untruths’. For example she lies to Linton when he and state of health, he would have seen fit to withhold even that slight
leaves for the Heights and to Catherine about Linton being far, far away. consolation"
This is also a reminder that she is a real character with human traits and
contradictions.
4. Catherine is almost embarrassed about explaining to romance to Nelly,
but the reader can draw that it is a childish romance and therefore
unsustainable.
5. Edgar clearly has a completely romanticised version of the heath. Bronte
is mocking his character and he has not been outside enough to know
that the moor is dark with harsh winds and cold.
6. Completely contrasting to Cathy and Heathcliff’s view of the moors. They
see it their own purgatory where they are in neither heaven nor hell but
they are together.
7. Complete contrast between the two characters and their own ideas of
bliss. Too contrasting? Catherine is adventurous yet Linton is frail. Ironic
that Catherine says his heaven is only half alive when that it arguably the
current state of Linton himself.
8. Linton is always in this state of frustration that is unpleasant for others.
Again the inflicting of your own pain on others for greater attention and
control.
9. Keep getting little reminders of Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship such
as previous references to the moors and the window. Negative or positive
comparisons? CONTRASTS.
10. We see similar events that occurred between Heathcliff and Edgar
happening between Hareton and Linton. Heathcliff wanted to be
 educated for Cathy. Foreshadows Hareton and Catherine’s future? Is
Hareton a doppelganger of Heathcliff?
11. Obviously blatant gothic and religious connotations.
12. Linton’s actions taken out of context would fit in a heroic battle scene, yet
it is after a small aggression that a person of good health would recover
from instantly. He is essentially a dead man walking. Very vivid imagery.
13. Reminded that those at Wuthering Heights are always working, contrast
to Thrushcross Grange.
14. Completely exaggerated reaction! Reader becomes frustrated that she
feels so much for Linton when he is so verbally aggressive to her. One
sided affection? Does Linton love her or love the attention?
15. Complete self-conflict. Normal reaction considering she is allegedly in
love with him?
16. Is Linton worthy of Catherine’s forgiveness? Especially after he is so
consistently rude to her. Also raises gothic theme of justice (judgement
day, human transgression etc).
17. Catherine is aware of Linton’s nature, yet he is almost described as a
supernatural being than anything human.
18. We question why Catherine is so forgiving of Linton when she knows he
is a character of such malice. This is not the romance we saw between
Hindley and Frances or even to an extent Cathy and Heathcliff. Is Bronte
suggesting that women are trapped or that there is a weakness in
Catherine’s character?
19. Even though Nelly scolds Catherine for lying to her, Nelly does the same.
Nelly is such a contrasting character!!! She doesn’t agree with Catherine’s visits
to the heights yet she has the cheek to comment on Edgar’s decision that Linton
will only come to Thrushcross Grange. Extremely unreliable narrator.
11
12 - Catherine and Linton meet on the moors.
- It is apparent that Linton’s health is declining.
- Linton doesn’t/isn’t enjoying the visit but begs Catherine to stay due to the fear
of the repercussions if she leaves.
- Linton wants Catherine to tell her father of his health.
- He becomes so exhausted he falls asleep
- When he wakes up he is confused by the voices, mostly Heathcliff’s voice which
torments him even though the reader knows Heathcliff is nowhere to be seen.
- Nelly persuades Catherine to keep Linton’s health a secret from her Father.

- ‘It was a close, sultry day: devoid of sunshine’

Pathetic fallacy:
- ‘summer was already past its prime’
These words make it appear that all is lost from the beginning of the chapter.
- ‘Sky too dappled and hazy to threaten rain’ this pathetic fallacy could
The feeling of Linton as he is appears so ill now he no longer cares for attention. reflect

Borders:
Demonstrates Catherine’s will to escape the grange also indicates a danger.
Men/masculinity: Turning conventions
Although pictured as a teenager, the imagery appears as though he is a child and
yet Linton has lost the need to be pandered. He is moved to be the weaker sex.
Women/femininity: Gothic Heroine
- ‘Then Master Linton has forgot the first injunction of his uncle,’
- ‘he bid us keep on the Grange land, and here we are, off at once’
- ‘Why Master Heathcliff, you are not fit for enjoying a ramble, this
morning.’
- ‘How ill you do look’
- ‘His large blue eyes wandered timidly over her’
- ‘The tears gushed from Linton’s eyes as he answered’
- ‘He walked so feebly, and looked so pale,’ almost appears as an old man
- ‘And, in the morning, I often feel sick’ morning sickness

Catherine appears greater in this chapter compared to the weak and feeble
appearance of Linton

- ‘I care nothing for his anger’ yet in this instance she could be perceive as
quite naïëve.
Catherine appears quite strong and unfeeling in the chapter as she longs to leave
because Linton is so ill that he isn’t entertaining her.

- ‘I can’t tell why we should stay. He’s asleep’

Oppositions/contrast

Clear opposition forming: the contrasts between Catherine and Linton.

A contrast greatened by the characters differing genders.
Contrast is drawn between Linton and Heathcliff: when nelly describes the way
Linton used to be with his illness and as he grows sicker the more he becomes
like his father

Violence:

- ‘Is he severe to you, Master Heathcliff?’

 - ‘Has he grown weary of indulgence, and passed from passive, to active
hatred?’’
- ‘He glanced fearfully towards the Heights, begging she would remain
another half-hour’
Here there are hints of Linton’s situation, giving the impression that Heathcliff
has tired of Linton and threatened him if he does not spend time with Catherine.
Never ascertained that Heathcliff harms Linton although Linton’s fear
(mental, terror) is more effecting than Heathcliff inflicting physical violence.

Death

- ‘This is something like your paradise’

Can relate to Heathcliff and Catherine’s heaven

- ‘More of the self-absorbed moroseness of a confirmed invalid, repelling

consolation’
It appears that Linton has given up or at least has moved from inane complaints
of his health towards him appearing truly ill. It appears as though through this
illness he has matured as his health declined

- ‘less of the peevish temper of a child which frets and teases on purpose’
- ‘Catherine surveyed him with grief’

Insanity

- ‘Still under the spell of the imaginary voice, his gazed wandered up and
down to detect its owner’

Terror

- ‘Startled from his slumber in bewildered terror’

- ‘Don’t lead him to suppose that I’ve been extremely silent and stupid: don’t
look sad and downcast as you are doing- he’ll be angry’
 - ‘I thought I heard my father,’ he gasped’
Heathcliff is portrayed as a very sinister and effecting character and being.
Observe his hold over Linton and are almost in awe of his ability to corrupt and
strike fear into other characters.

Obscurity

- ‘Startled from his slumber in bewildered terror, and asked if any one had
called his name’
The reader is unaware of Linton’s fear at this point in the chapter.

- ‘I thought I heard my father he gasped, glancing up to the frowning nab

above us’
- ‘You are sure nobody spoke’
The essence of the supernatural, the inanimate, the unfathomable causes fear for
the reader.

Ambiguity and uncertainty

This comes from their adventures across the borders and specifically the
uncertainty of Linton’s survival and health.
Crossing the border is like crossing a threshold unsure of the outcome once the
character has stepped over the line.

- ‘Just as if it were a task he was compelled to perform’

- ‘We left him, scarcely conscious of our departure, so absorbed was he in
anticipating his father’s approach’

13  Edgar’s health has deteriorated quickly. He seems open to the idea

of Cathy marrying Linton, for as Nelly reports: "Linton's letters
bore few or no indications of his defective character"

 Cathy and Nelly return to Wuthering Height to meet Linton at the

same spot. Linton is extremely agitated and afraid. Cathy angrily
questions his motives, “If you love me so much, why are you acting
 like such a freak?”

 The truth comes out: if Linton doesn't get Cathy to marry him,
Heathcliff will kill him

 Heathcliff arrives and is now worried that Linton might die before
Edgar does, so he confronts Catherine asking how ill Edgar is. He
insists that Cathy helps Linton get the back into the house. When
Cathy says that Edgar has forbidden her to go to the Heights,
Linton claims that he himself cannot re-enter the house without
Cathy.

 Once inside, Heathcliff locked the door and insisted they stay for
tea. Everyone else was gone from the Heights, and they were alone.
Heathcliff announces, "Had I been born where laws are less strict,
and tastes less dainty, I should treat myself to a slow vivisection of
those two, as an evening's amusement"
 Cathy demanded to leave, but Heathcliff would not give up the key.
They fought over it, and he slapped her repeatedly. When he
stopped, he told her to go to Linton, and Heathcliff vows to be her
father-in-law by morning.

 Linton refuses to help Cathy and Nelly escape, as he is more

interested in saving his own skin than in letting Cathy be with her
father on his deathbed.

 Nelly and Cathy spend the night locked in a room, unable to escape
through the narrow windows. In the morning, Heathcliff releases
Cathy from the room but keeps Nelly there for four days and five
nights.

 Cathy asks to be married now, so she can see her father, but
Heathcliff doesn’t agree

Revenge

Heathcliff locking Nelly and Cathy in a bedroom that night. The next day
he lets Cathy out of the bedroom, but not Wuthering Heights, and keeps
Nelly locked in the room under the guard of Hareton. There are parallels
between Heathcliff’s actions here and the time he was locked in an attic
by Hindley. Revenge continues to cause events to almost exactly repeat
themselves.

Violence

When Cathy protested that she must get home to her father Heathcliff
slapped her brutally and made it clear she wouldn’t leave Wuthering
Heights until she married Linton. Cathy’s pity and kindness are the causes
of her misfortunes here. She is in the presence of Heathcliff’s intelligent
hatred and her good qualities only leave her vulnerable to his plans.

Linton shows his true character here: Heathcliff says, “He’ll undertake to
torture any number of cats if their teeth be drawn, and their claws pared”.
Linton thinks exclusively of himself despite Cathy’s pain and terror.

“'Keep your eft's fingers off; and move, or I'll kick you!' cried
Heathcliff, brutally repulsing her.”

Isolation

We see how desperate Heathcliff is to have his plans succeed, as he

commits a crime by kidnapping Catherine and Nelly. If these events had
taken place anywhere other than on the moors, he would have faced the
full wrath of the law, but due to the isolation of Wuthering Heights, he
feels that he is above the law.

Nature

Nelly thinks a visit to Cathy’s cousin might cheer her, and they head over
in the afternoon. Everything about the hills and sun was comforting, but:

“Catherine’s face was just like the landscape—shadows and

sunshine flitting over it in rapid succession; but the shadows
rested longer, and the sunshine was more transient.”

Her grief was so strong that even a beautiful day could not cheer her, and
 her happiness was fleeting.

14
15 - Heathcliff arrives at the Grange to take Catherine back to the Heights,
back to Linton
- Catherine agrees (or is forced) to go
- Heathcliff tells Nelly of how he dug up Cathy’s grave and of her haunting
of him
- Nelly watches them leave out of the window

Gothic Features
‘venturing conjectures as to the gloomy future’
- Despondent beginning to the chapter, a lack of hope.

- Repetition of ‘hope’… does this make the readers hope or do they find
Nelly ridiculous? The women are still hoping for something that will ‘and yet I did hope’, ‘We had just agreed the best destiny to await Catherine…’
result, still, in their imprisonment.

- Sense of Heathcliff as, once again, the Devil. He has immense control over
the characters; violent verbs used to describe his movements – ‘Heathcliff advanced’, ‘that devil Heathcliff‘
animalistic.

- Slight repetition of an event; use of the sublime to heighten the moment

whilst giving a sense of the Gothic. The moon coming through the
window… could this represent death coming through the barriers or
perhaps salvation (different interpretations)? The room seems almost ‘the same moon shone through the window’, ‘we had not yet lighted a candle’,
like a shrine to Cathy – offensive to Heathcliff. The use of candles gives it ‘eighteen years before’
a ‘spooky air’.

- Presentation of Heathcliff… is he really the same as eighteen years

before? He could be seen as preserved which links to how Cathy has been
little altered in the grave… the two are one. We are subject to Nelly’s
prejudice… the readers may see a difference in him. ‘There was the same man’/’no other difference’

- Gender role reversal: Catherine is portrayed as a protector, almost as a

spirit to banish the devil. The use of the word ‘calls’ connotes that she
has been summoned by, not a person, but by a force – sense of the
supernatural. Seems to be a religious ‘battle’. She orders Heathcliff; she
‘and calls you to protect him from me’, ‘I defy you to frighten me.’, ‘draw
now has nothing to lose.
 pleasure from the grief of her enemies’, ‘Begone, witch’
- Mixed emotions from Heathcliff that romantic and realist readers could
look upon differently. We see a different side of him when he talks of
Cathy’s grave and get a sense that his cruelty comes from internal
torment.

- Digging up her grave could be seen as highly romantic and gives the ‘your cruelty rises from your greater misery!’, ‘his very weakness will
sense that there is life after death; Heathcliff suggests that he will move sharpen his wits to find a substitute for strength’
to her whilst he is dead… this could be seen as ambiguous. The degree of
preservation of the body suggests that Cathy is in purgatory; Heathcliff
will be frozen and preserved with her.
‘I would have stayed there when I saw her face again’, ‘it is hers yet’, ‘and slide
- Sense of the supernatural suggesting that Cathy and Heathcliff are one, mine out too’, ‘my cheek frozen against hers’, ‘better chance of keeping me
they are the same person. Her presence is a constant within Heathcliff… underground’
she is his soul?

- Heathcliff appears to be already dead, without Cathy he is only a physical

form. Use of blood suggesting a loss of passion and desire.

- Power of nature at the end of the chapter, used as a mocking device. Also
again gives the sense of Heathcliff being part of the greater power of
nature. Despondent end to the chapter, connotations of death –
description of Catherine could link to Cathy’s death.
‘I have a strong faith in ghosts’, ‘her presence was with me’/’and led me
home’, ‘not under me, but on the earth’
‘It was a strange way of killing, not by inches, but by fractions’, ‘a painful
appearance of mental tension’

‘whose trees concealed them.’, ‘her lips felt like ice’

16 - Nelly tells Lockwood about her conversation with Zillah (servant/maid

at the Heights) concerning Catherine
- Linton dies with all his property being left to Heathcliff
- Catherine confines herself for a fortnight but is forced to come down, to
Zillah and Hareton, because of the cold
- Nelly’s narration ends

Gothic Features
- Sense of the supernatural: to some readers, ‘was’ could suggest that the
dead do not remain so and, also, maybe that residents at the Heights are
somewhere in between the living and the dead. ‘I should hardly know who was dead, and who living’

- Introduction of another narrator again causes questioning of reliability.

From Nelly’s description of Zillah… can we really believe what she says
about Catherine? We are subject to both Nelly’s and Zillah’s prejudice. ‘being a narrow-minded selfish woman’

- There is a strong change in Catherine’s character as she appears to fall

from her previously seen position of a protector. At the Heights, her
‘I cannot tell what to do’/‘if nobody will help me, he’ll die!’
ability to protect Linton seems diminished, she has no control now.

- Fearful imagery created of Heathcliff, controls everyone, even Catherine

(to some extent). The Heights itself could be seen as its own patriarchal
society, acting as a synecdoche for the whole of society. Bronte could be
delivering a strong, political message. ‘I never dare disobey him’, ‘still I didn’t wish to lose my place, you know!’

- Everyone has a position at the Heights, it contrasts strongly to the

Grange; life is harder at the Heights with a lack of emotion and purpose.
Death is something that is cast-aside.

- Repetition of death… seems to be a constant presence at the Heights. ‘we each had our tasks’, ‘it was no concern of mine’
Heathcliff’s question to Catherine after Linton’s death could be seen as
shocking or, to some readers, as slightly humorous and ridiculous. The
answer appears too obvious to be taken seriously. Perhaps Heathcliff
craves for some extreme emotion from her… to show a side of her ‘I feel and only see death! I feel like death!’, ‘Now Catherine’/’how do you
mother? feel?’

- A sense that, in death, your identity is lost. Linton’s death highly

contrasts to Cathy’s death where she was described beautifully. The
mention of a body creates chilling imagery for the readers and can be
seen to depict Linton as an object, a pawn in Heathcliff’s game?

- Presentation of women shown by Bronte’s knowledge of law as the

‘He afterwards made Joseph remove the body’
inheritance passes to Heathcliff. However, only a few lines are dedicated
to the will… is Heathcliff particularly satisfied with what he’s done? Was
it really worth it?
‘Catherine, destitute of both cash and friends, cannot disturb his possession’,
- Sense of isolation and emotional turmoil with food again being used as a
‘Heathcliff went up once, to show her Linton’s will’
weapon. The Gothic use of colour represents sorrow… but the
description of Catherine’s hair could perhaps show hope. The refusal of
 food connotes power and control and its acceptance seems to be a sign of
weakness. Catherine is independent – Bronte flips the conventions here.

- Doppelganger effect between Catherine and Cathy: Catherine seems to

grow stronger with mistreatment, similar to Cathy, she now has nothing ‘Cathy stayed upstairs a fortnight’, ‘donned in black, and her yellow curls
to lose, and she remains in control of herself. Relating her to a snake combed back’, ‘I’ve been starved a month and more/’as scornful as she could’
could signify that she is cunning and is now without strong morals.

- Nature is somewhat personified: it is seen as almost mocking as it forces

Catherine downstairs. Contrasts to the times when it is seen as beautiful.
Another interpretation could be that the Heights is the evil force here.
‘the more hurt she gets, the more venomous she grows’
- Sense of the doppelganger between Heathcliff and Hareton: both are
driven to touch women without their ‘permission’. However, Heathcliff’s
actions are much more violent (e.g. his seizing of Isabella) whereas
Hareton’s are gentle and could be seen as romantic.

Pathetic fallacy ‘I’m driven down here by the cold’

Winter holds connotations of death and darkness, and with the continuation of
everyone dying, Lockwood realises he needs to escape from this and return to
London where he is comfortable and understands the people. Whilst at the ‘he put out his hand and stroked one curl’
heights, he is out of place and doesn’t full understand the people and their ways

Borders ‘Thus ended Mrs Dean’s story’

Doors representing entrapment, as well as not being allowed into the unknown.
‘I would not pass another winter here’
Hiding away from reality

Death

Death is a regular occurrence for the Bronte family, which is reflected in this
chapter. Everyone seem to be dying or wanting to die, suggesting they want to
escape reality and go to the subconscious
‘Joseph held the door in his hand’
The knowing of death allows Catherine to realize she will be free from Linton,
but contrastingly, Linton will be safe and unharmed as Heathcliff will be absent

Ambiguity and uncertainty

‘I should hardly know who was dead, and who living’
Catherine’s emotions are mixed, she is shown to not caring about Linton
however when he dies she attempts to brush out her hair; this could be
reflecting her brushing her hair to get rid of the death of Linton, however the ‘He’s safe and I’m free’
feelings won’t disappear

Attempts for Catherine and Mr.Hareton to become a union

Generation repetition
Cathy and Heathcliff were two contrasting individuals, therefore it causes ‘A plain as a Quaker, she couldn’t comb them out’
ambiguity to how they managed together, but this reflects Catherine and Linton.
Catherine is portrayed as the strong, dominant one, whereas Linton reflects the
weak and dependant person. This is a reflection of Heathcliff without Cathy
‘Your young lady too fine for Mr. Hareton’
Catherine starves herself like her mother, as food is something which we are
dependent upon and they consider their selves strong women

Isolation
No one has seen Catherine, escaping everyone
Linton is complicated, Cathy either helps him or he if left to die alone showing ‘How they managed together, I can’t tell’
his insignificance in society

Supernatural
Nelly and Zillah were on the moors, representing the supernatural; escaping
reality
Reading allows desires to be fulfilled, along with drifting into another world to
escape reality. Catherine reads to allow her to drift into another world, where ‘I’ve been starved a month and more’
there are no problems for her to face
‘I have not seen her since she left’
Dreams
‘Lock him up and leave him’
Dreams reflect the subconscious and escapism from reality along with all the
problems which we are faced with, therefore Nelly attempts to escape from
 telling Heathcliff that his son his dying

‘When we foregathered on the moor‘

The somewhat abrupt ending of the chapter serves as a distraction from the
novel as we are presented with Lockwood’s ridiculous narration. The use of the ‘She continued reading, or seeking for something to read’
word ‘story’ somewhat downplays the apparent intensity of the novel and could
suggest that women have nothing to do but to exaggerate and make up stories!

‘But my sleep was marred a second time’

17  Lockwood visits the heights to tell Heathcliff he no longer wishes to live
at The Grange
 Lockwood delivers note to Cathy from Nelly, Catherine is unable to reply
as she has no access to paper – Heathcliff has taken everything away
from her and Hareton has stolen some of her books
 Cathy mocks Hareton, saying the books are no use to him as he is
illiterate – Hareton is embarrassed and turns angry, he throws her books
on the fire
 Heathcliff tells Lockwood Hareton reminds him of Cathy
 Lockwood leaves WH thinking what could have been if he were to have
formed a relationship with Catherine

Gothic conventions/quotes:

Pathetic fallacy – ‘it was bright, calm and frosty’

Positive and still until the word ‘frosty’, frost obscures reality, link to the
sublime, as it induces fear.

Isolation/Imprisonment – ‘an idle whim is going to spirit me away. I shall set

out for London’

Lockwood wishes to leave Thrushcross Grange and move to London. - The

complete opposite of this rural location. Escape current sense of imprisonment,
possible desire to escape danger…
 Distress/Generation repetition – “When I look for his father in his face, I find
her every day more!”

Constant reminder, mental and now physical through Cathy is beginning to take
its toll on Heathcliff, since now he is being physically haunted, as he previously
wished to be. Foreshadows the end.

Unreliable narrator – “What a realization of something more romantic than a

fairy tale it would have been for Mrs Linton Heathcliff, had she and I struck up
an attachment”

Emphasises there could have been a possibility of a romance. Lockwood once

again expresses his delusional thoughts of what could have been. Regards
himself as civilised.

Gothic Heroine/Femininity – “…and pretty blunders he makes!”

Catherine acts stubborn and fiery when mocking Hareton’s lack of education,
doesn’t hold back and isn’t afraid to voice how she feels.

18  Lockwood returns to the Grange six months later, Nelly is living at WH

 Nelly tells Lockwood of the goings on since he left – Hareton avoids Cathy
and Cathy confides in Nelly, admitting she was wrong to have mocked
him. Heathcliff has become withdrawn.
 Hareton accidentally shoots himself, Cathy and Hareton agree to be civil
 Cathy gives a book to Nelly in order to give to Hareton, she intends to
teach Hareton to read and will not mock him again.

Gothic Conventions/quotes:

 The passing of time/contrast – ‘1802’

In Lockwood’s diary, first date since the very first chapter. Highlights the
 irreversible changes and inexorable passing of time

 Pathetic Fallacy/Sublime – ‘In winter, nothing more dreary, in summer,

nothing more divine’
Contrast of nature, reinforcing Lockwood’s feelings towards his old home

 Generation repetition/Past repeating itself – “…now I thank you and

beg you to forgive me!”
Cathy begs Hareton for forgiveness regarding her mocking his lack of
intellect. Reminiscent of when Catherine begged Heathcliff for
forgiveness when she was in her weakest state. There is a difference
though, both Hareton and Cathy both begin to feel remorse

 Class division – Hareton has practically been told of his status and has
been forced to accept it. Cathy sees beyond the differences and offers to
help Hareton rather than look down on him. She buys him a book in
order to teach him. Sees beyond class.

 The supernatural – Heathcliff dies with the thought in mind that he will
be reunited with Catherine in the end.

19 Catherine and Hareton dig up Joseph’s garden
Catherine starts a fight with Heathcliff, and tells Hareton how he has
been wronged
Heathcliff goes to attack Catherine but loses motivation
Heathcliff speaks of the resemblance between Cathy and Hareton
Heathcliff tells Nelly he feels a change coming and that he has lost all
motivation to seek his revenge and destroy the families of Linton and
Earnshaw
1. Foreshadowing – used as an indication that Hareton and Cathy are soon
to take over Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.
2. Contrast between the beauty of Catherine and the roughness of Hareton.
3. Religious language – Heathcliff presents Catherine as the devil, which is a
change from Heathcliff being compared to the devil.
4. Element of the arcane – Joseph accuses Cathy of bewitching Hareton.
5. Representation of women – women have no power, and are defenceless
1. ‘she had persuaded him to clear a space patch of ground’ / ‘they were
busy planning together an importation of plants from the Grange.’
2. ‘sticking primroses in his plate of porridge.’
3. ‘what fiend possesses you’
4. ‘It’s yon flaysome, graceless quean, ut’t witched ahr lad’
5. ‘Your land, insolent slut? You never had any!’
6. ‘I’ll strike him to Hell… Damnable witch!’
7. ‘Your love will make him an outcast’
8. ‘if he were the devil, it didn’t signify; he would stand by him’
9. ‘his startling likeness to Catherine connected him fearfully with her’
10. ‘my immortal love’ / ‘my wild endeavours’
11. ‘dark things’ / ‘odd fancies’
12. ‘conscience has turned his heart to an earthly hell’ (what should have
happened but Heathcliff defies this)
 to the insults and wishes of men.
6. Powerful combination of violence, the arcane and religion. All three
combine and contradict to demonstrate the extreme, intense and
contradictory character of Heathcliff.
7. Concept that love can cause characters to become liminal.
8. Despite his seemingly good nature, Hareton can be seen as giving himself
to the devil.
9. Element of the doppelganger – Hareton’s resemblance to Cathy confuses
both the reader and the characters, and blurs the margins between
reality and the imagination.
10. Emphasis placed upon the power and wildness of Heathcliff’s love.
11. Heathcliff’s character is firmly implanted within the gothic. Nelly
describes his interests as a child, which are incredibly fitting with the
elements of the gothic.
12. Heathcliff is shown to break the taboos and conventions is society and
religion.
20 Heathcliff goes out onto the moor and encounters Cathy’s ghost 1. ‘Mr Heathcliff shunned meeting us’ / ‘choosing, rather, to absent
His character becomes less terrifying, and he seems happier himself’
In the subsequent days he refuses to eat or sleep 2. ‘the weather was sweet and warm’ / ‘the… trees… were in full
He eventually dies and is buried next to Cathy bloom’
Lockwood leaves Wuthering Heights 3. ‘very much excited, and wild and glad!’
4. ‘Night-walking’
1. Heathcliff becomes and even more liminal character as he refuses to sit 5. ‘as fast as a cat’
down with Catherine or Hareton, and he demands they stay away from 6. ‘and Earnshaw said he’d go’
him. 7. ‘it was unnatural’
2. Pathetic fallacy – things begin to come back to life now Heathcliff is 8. ‘I was on the threshold of hell. To-day, I am within sight of my
dying. heaven’
3. Insanity – the reader experiences the sudden change in Heathcliff’s 9. ‘The fire smouldered to ashes’
nature, indicating he is fast losing his mind. 10. ‘It appeared to me, not Mr Heathcliff, but a goblin’ / ‘Is he a ghoul
4. Inability to sleep shows how tormented Heathcliff is by the ghost of or a vampire?’
Cathy, and by his inability to be with her completely. 11. ‘in my terror’
5. Animal metaphors – the metaphors used to describe Heathcliff has 12. ‘Don’t, for God’s sake stare as if you saw an unearthly vision’
changed from ferocious animals to relatively domesticated ones. 13. ‘he gazed at something within two yards of distance’ / ‘The fancied
Indicates his sudden change in nature now Cathy has returned to him object was not fixed’
and they are so close to being together wholly. 14. ‘both pleasure and pain, in exquisite extremes’
6. The use of Hareton’s last name gives an element of the doppelganger as it 15. ‘I wish I could annihilate it from the face of the earth.’
foreshadows the Earnshaw’s reclamation of Wuthering Heights. It also 16. ‘I cannot eat or rest’
foreshadows Heathcliff’s death and it indicates Hareton will soon be 17. ‘I have nearly attained my heaven’
reclaiming his birth right. 18. ‘the dead are not annihilated!’
7. The description of Heathcliff contributes the element of the unnatural 19. ‘to you, I’ve made myself worse than the devil’ / ‘too much for flesh
and going against nature. and blood to bear’
8. Oppositions tied into religious references. Cathy is Heathcliff’s heaven; 20. ‘to extinguish, if possible, that frightful, life-like gaze of
his life is hell without her. Cathy and Heathcliff created their own heaven exultation’ / ‘They would not shut’
and hell. 21. ‘Th’ divil’s harried off his soul’ / ‘and the old sinner grinned in
9. Symbolism of Heathcliff dying. mockery’
10. Heathcliff once again described as the unnatural /supernatural. 22. ‘would swear on the bible that he walks’
11. Following straight on is a reference to terror, which links the 23. ‘Together they would brave satan and all his legions.’
supernatural to terror. Terror of the unknown and that which is more
powerful than nature.
12. Contrast between religion and the supernatural. Creates a sense of
unease and confuses the natural order of things.
13. Revenance – Cathy returns to haunt Heathcliff and to bring him back to
her.
14. Oppositions combined with extremities. Strong contrasts between the
feelings and emotions of Heathcliff.
15. Element of destruction and death.
16. Again the idea that sleep is for the innocent. Heathcliff is tormented by
his demons / Cathy.
17. Heathcliff and Cathy defy the conventions of society and religion by
creating their own concepts of heaven and hell.
18. Recurrent element of the supernatural in the final pages of the novel.
Indicates that Heathcliff and Cathy will walk the earth long after they are
dead.
19. Concept that the supernatural is more powerful than the natural, which
evokes a sense of terror.
20. Indication that Heathcliff will never be gone or forgotten.
21. Bronte mocks religion as she represents the most religious character as a
hypocrite.
22. Contrast between supernatural and religion again.
23. Suggestion that Catherine and Hareton are the opposite of the evil in the
characters of Cathy and Heathcliff.