Wuthering Heights
- Author: Emily Bronte
Summary
An intense destructive, and obsessive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Heathcliff is a terror, he is the villain and the hero of the story. Most of the novel is a flashback.
Heathcliff is an orphan brought to their home (Wuthering Heights) by Catherine’s father. Catherine’s brother Hindley does not like Heathcliff and mistreats him. Catherine is kind to Heathcliff and they get close with each other and play games often. As they grow, the fondness grows.
One day, Catherine and Heathcliff sneak over to the neighboring estate, Thrushcross Grange. Catherine is bitten by their dog and stays there for five weeks to recover. Here, she likes the kindness and gentleness of the Lintons, becomes “refined” and begins to pull away from Heathcliff’s wildness. Heathcliff overhears Catherine tell the housekeeper, Nelly, that it would “degrade” her to marry him. He gets immediately upset and leaves before he can hear the rest of the dialogue - where she says that she loves him more than anything.
Catherine searches of Heathcliff and is frantic that he is gone. Days pass by and any hopes of him coming back is lost. Catherine decides to marry the kind Edgar Linton. She even tells Nelly that by marrying Edgar, she could have money to help Heathcliff overcome Hindley’s oppression.
Many years later, Heathcliff returns as a rich man. He sees that Hindley has a gambling habit and encourages drinking and gambling. When Hindley’s debts grow and he is unable to pay, Heathcliff pays off the debts and takes ownership of Wuthering Heights. He befriends Edgar Linton’s sister and marries her only to treat her badly after the marriage. Edgar dies. Catherine dies, heartbroken, caught between her deep love for Heathcliff and care for Edgar and traumatized by Heathcliff’s relentless revenge on people around her. She gives birth to a daugher, Cathy, before she dies. Edgar’s sister, Isabella also dies.
Years later, Heathcliff forces young Cathy to marry his sickly son, Linton Heathcliff, to legally steal her inheritance (Thrushcross Grange).
In the present day Heathcliff is the landlord of both the estates. Hareton who is Hindley’s son is treated poorly by Heathcliff and is a simpleton because Heathcliff makes sure to not educate him. After Linton dies, Heathcliff keeps Cathy as a virtual prisoner at Wuthering Heights.
Heathcliff often sees visions of Catherine calling into him and runs into to the rain, to the moors to meet her spirit. In the end, he dies. Cathy and Hareton are united.
Highlights
- By this curious turn of disposition, I have gained the reputation (Location 83)
- the dark, as vivid as spectres—the air swarmed with Catherines; (Location 279)