Wuthering heights

WUTHERING
HEIGHTS BY EMILY
BRONTË
Leanne Briffa

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Jane Brontë was born on the
30 July 1818 and died on the 19
December 1848. She was an English
novelist and poet who is best known
for her only novel, Wuthering
Heights, now considered a classic of
English literature. Emily was the
third eldest of the four surviving
Brontë siblings, between the
youngest Anne and her brother
Branwell. The eldest was Charlotte known for her
novel Jane Eyre. Brontë wrote under the pen name
Ellis Bell.

 Heathcliff: Found, orphaned, on
the streets of Liverpool and
taken by Mr Earnshaw to
Wuthering Heights, where he is
unwillingly cared for by the
family. He and Catherine grow
close and their love is the central
theme of the first volume. His
revenge against the man she
chooses to marry and its
consequences are the central
theme of the second volume.

 Catherine Earnshaw: First
introduced to the reader after
her death, through Lockwood's
discovery of her diary and carvings.
She seems unsure whether she is,
or wants to become, more like
Heathcliff, or aspires to be more
like Edgar. In the end she chooses
to marry Edgar to Heathcliff’s
disappointment.

 Edgar Linton: Introduced as a
child in the Linton family, he
lives at Thrushcross Grange.
Edgar's style and manners are
in sharp contrast to those of
Heathcliff, who instantly dislikes
him, and of Catherine, who is
drawn to him. Catherine
marries him instead of
Heathcliff because of his higher
social status, with disastrous
results.

 Nelly Dean: The main narrator of
the novel, Nelly is a servant to three
generations of the Earnshaws and
two of the Linton family. Humbly
born, she regards herself
nevertheless as Hindley's foster-
sister as they are the same age and
her mother is his nurse. She lives
and works among the rough
inhabitants of Wuthering Heights,
but is well-read, and she also
experiences the more polite
manners of Thrushcross Grange.
She is referred to as Ellen, her
given name, to show respect, and
as Nelly among those close to her.

 Isabella Linton: Isabella is Edgar
Linton’s younger sister. She
views Heathcliff romantically,
despite Catherine's warnings,
and becomes an involuntary
participant in his plot for revenge
against Edgar. Heathcliff marries
her, but treats her abusively.
Pregnant, she escapes to
London and gives birth to a son,
Linton.

 Hindley Earnshaw: Catherine's
elder brother, Hindley despises
Heathcliff immediately and bullies
him throughout their childhood
before his father sends him away
to college. Hindley returns with his
wife, Frances, after Mr Earnshaw
dies. He is more mature, but his
hatred of Heathcliff remains the
same. After Frances's death
Hindley is caught in a downward
spiral of destructive behavior, and
ruins the Earnshaw family by
drinking and gambling to excess.
Heathcliff beats up Hindley at one
point when he attempts to kill him
with a pistol.

 Hareton Earnshaw: The son of
Hindley and Frances, raised at
first by Nelly but soon by
Heathcliff. Nelly works to
encourage a sense of pride in the
Earnshaw heritage. Heathcliff, in
contrast, teaches him vulgarities,
as a way of avenging himself on
Hindley. Hareton speaks with a
broad Yorkshire accent, and
occupies a position similar to a
servant at Wuthering Heights,
unaware how he has been done
out of his inheritance. In
appearance he reminds Heathcliff
of his aunt, Catherine.

 Cathy Linton: The daughter of
Catherine Earnshaw and Edgar
Linton, a spirited and determined
girl unaware of her parents'
history. Edgar is very protective
of her and as a result she is
eager to discover what lies
beyond the confines of the
Grange. Although one of the
more symphatic characters of the
novel, she is also somewhat
arrogant to Hareton and his
lacking education.

 Linton Heathcliff: The son of
Heathcliff and Isabella. A weak
child, his early years are spent
with his mother in the south of
England. He learns of his
father's identity and existence
only after his mother dies, when
he is twelve. In his selfishness
and ability for cruelty he
resembles Heathcliff, but he
appears to lack his father's only
positive feature: the capacity to
love. He marries Cathy Linton
because his father, who terrifies
him, directs him to do so.

 Frances Earnshaw: Hindley's ill
wife and mother of Hareton
Earnshaw. She is described as
somewhat silly and is obviously
from humble family backgrounds.
 Mr Lockwood: The first narrator,
he rents Thrushcross Grange to
escape the world, but in the end
decides humanity is preferable.

FROM THE BOOK
He gazed at her so earnestly that I
thought it would bring tears to his eyes;
but they burned with pain; they did not
melt.
‘What now?’ said Catherine, leaning back, and
returning his look with a suddenly clouded
brow. ‘You and Edgar have broken my heart,
Heathcliff! And now you both come to cry pity
on the deed, as if you were the people in need
of sympathy! I shall not pity you, not I. You
have killed me-and are all the stronger for it, I
think. How many years do you mean to live
after I am gone?’

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
The story of Wuthering Heights is mainly on
revenge. How Heathcliff does everything so that
Catherine marries him but when she doesn’t, he
does everything to ruin Edgar’s life. In the end he
becomes the owner of both Wuthering Heights and
Trushcross Grange. But all that doesn’t matter as in
the end Heathcliff ends up alone and in despair as
he realizes how many people he indirectly killed
and he still doesn’t get what he always wanted; To
be married to Catherine.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THE
BOOK
Wuthering Heights in an epic
story of love and revenge that
will have you on the edge of
your seat till the very end. It is
an emotional rollercoaster.
Also, it is a beautiful classic
and a fine piece of literature.

Wuthering heights

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