Summary in short
Wuthering Heights tells the story of Heathcliff, an orphan taken in by the Earnshaw family on the Yorkshire moors, and his stormy love for Catherine Earnshaw. When Catherine marries the wealthy Edgar Linton instead, Heathcliff returns and takes revenge on both families, and only the next generation breaks the cycle.
Plot summary
The story is told by Mr Lockwood, a tenant at Thrushcross Grange in 1801. He visits his harsh landlord, Heathcliff, at the nearby farmhouse Wuthering Heights and spends a snowy night there. He sees the ghost of a child named Catherine at the window. His housekeeper, Nelly Dean, tells him the history of the two houses.
Years earlier, Mr Earnshaw, who owns Wuthering Heights, brings home a dark-skinned orphan from Liverpool and names him Heathcliff. His daughter Catherine becomes Heathcliff's closest companion, but his son Hindley hates him. After Mr Earnshaw dies, Hindley becomes master and degrades Heathcliff to a servant. After the two children visit Thrushcross Grange, Catherine stays there to recover from an injury and is drawn to the refined Lintons, Edgar and his sister Isabella. She decides to marry Edgar, partly because of his wealth, though she tells Nelly that she is Heathcliff. Heathcliff overhears only the first part and vanishes.
Three years later Heathcliff returns wealthy and educated. He aims to destroy those who hurt him. He lends Hindley money and encourages his drinking and gambling until he owns Wuthering Heights. He also marries Isabella, whom he treats cruelly, to get at Edgar's property. Catherine, torn between her husband and Heathcliff, falls ill after a violent quarrel and dies after giving birth to a daughter, also named Catherine. Heathcliff begs her ghost to haunt him.
Hindley dies, and Heathcliff takes charge of Hindley's son Hareton, raising him as an uneducated laborer, as he himself was treated. Isabella escapes and raises her son, Linton, away from the Heights. When she dies, Linton is sent to his father. Heathcliff, now determined to own Thrushcross Grange as well, tricks young Cathy into visiting Linton, who is sickly and spoiled. As Edgar lies dying, Heathcliff locks Cathy up until she marries Linton. Edgar dies, Linton dies soon afterward, and Heathcliff takes possession of both houses.
Back in the present, Cathy lives at the Heights as a bitter widow and at first mocks the ignorant Hareton. Gradually she begins to teach him to read, and they fall in love. Heathcliff, meanwhile, finds that his revenge no longer satisfies him. He stops eating, seems to see Catherine everywhere, and is found dead in the room where Catherine once slept. He is buried beside her.
Lockwood leaves the area. Cathy and Hareton plan to marry on New Year's Day and move to the Grange, ending the feud. Lockwood visits the three graves on the moor and wonders how anyone could imagine the sleepers there disturbed.
Main characters
| Heathcliff | An orphan raised by the Earnshaws, who becomes a driven, vengeful man after losing Catherine. |
|---|---|
| Catherine Earnshaw | Heathcliff's childhood companion, who marries Edgar Linton for status and dies young. |
| Edgar Linton | The gentle, wealthy owner of Thrushcross Grange, who marries Catherine. |
| Nelly Dean | The housekeeper who grew up with the families and tells most of the story to Lockwood. |
| Mr Lockwood | The outsider who rents Thrushcross Grange and records Nelly's account. |
| Hindley Earnshaw | Catherine's brother, who mistreats Heathcliff and drinks himself to ruin. |
| Isabella Linton | Edgar's sister, who marries Heathcliff against advice and is badly treated. |
| Hareton Earnshaw | Hindley's son, whom Heathcliff keeps uneducated, and who finally finds love with young Cathy. |
| Catherine Linton (Cathy) | The daughter of Catherine and Edgar, who is trapped into marriage with Linton and later falls for Hareton. |
| Linton Heathcliff | The sickly son of Heathcliff and Isabella, used by his father to gain control of the Grange. |
Themes
Love and obsession
Catherine's claim that she is Heathcliff shows a bond closer than ordinary romance. After her death Heathcliff cannot move on, and he asks her ghost to haunt him so that he is not left alone.
Revenge and cruelty
Heathcliff takes everything from Hindley and uses Isabella and Linton as tools for his plan. He repeats the abuse he once suffered by treating Hareton as a servant.
Class and social status
Catherine chooses Edgar because Heathcliff would degrade her, and Heathcliff reacts by gaining money and property. The novel shows how wealth, education and birth shape what people can have.
Nature and civilization
The wild Heights and the polite Grange mirror two ways of life. The ending, with Cathy and Hareton moving to the Grange and the old rage fading, brings a calmer balance between them.
Chapter by chapter
Chapter 1
In 1801 Lockwood visits his landlord Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights and finds the household unwelcoming.
Chapter 2
Lockwood returns in a snowstorm and meets the rude household, including Hareton, Joseph and a young woman who turns out to be Heathcliff's daughter-in-law. He is forced to stay the night.
Chapter 3
Lockwood sleeps in a room where Catherine's old books are kept and has a nightmare of a child at the window. Heathcliff reacts with grief when he hears of it.
Chapter 4
Nelly Dean begins her story with the day Mr Earnshaw brings the orphan Heathcliff to the farm. Hindley resents him, while Catherine grows close to him.
Chapter 5
Mr Earnshaw grows weak and dies, leaving the children to their own fate.
Chapter 6
Hindley returns as master with a wife, Frances, and lowers Heathcliff to a farmhand. Heathcliff and Catherine run to Thrushcross Grange, where she is bitten by a dog and kept to recover.
Chapter 7
Catherine returns after five weeks, dressed as a lady. Heathcliff is humiliated, and he vows revenge on Hindley.
Chapter 8
Hindley's son Hareton is born and Frances dies. Hindley sinks into drinking, and Edgar Linton begins courting Catherine.
Chapter 9
Catherine tells Nelly she has accepted Edgar but loves Heathcliff. Heathcliff overhears the first part and leaves.
Chapter 10
Lockwood falls ill, and Nelly continues. Catherine marries Edgar, and Heathcliff returns three years later as a wealthy man.
Chapter 11
Heathcliff stays at the Heights and tempts Hindley into gambling. Isabella falls for him, and Catherine and Edgar quarrel over his visits.
Chapter 12
Catherine locks herself in her room and falls dangerously ill. Heathcliff takes Isabella away and marries her.
Chapter 13
The couple return after two months. Isabella writes to Nelly describing her misery at the Heights.
Chapter 14
Nelly visits Heathcliff, who asks her to arrange a meeting with Catherine. Isabella's unhappy state is clear.
Chapter 15
Lockwood's recovery frames the next part of the story. Heathcliff visits Catherine in secret, and Edgar catches them in a passionate embrace.
Chapter 16
Catherine gives birth to a daughter and dies. Heathcliff begs her spirit never to rest.
Chapter 17
Hindley dies in debt, and Heathcliff takes the Heights and control of Hareton. Isabella escapes and has a son, Linton.
Chapter 18
Twelve years pass. Young Cathy grows up sheltered at the Grange, and Isabella's death brings Linton into the family.
Chapter 19
Linton arrives, and Heathcliff demands to have his son.
Chapter 20
Nelly takes the unhappy boy to the Heights, where Heathcliff mocks his weakness.
Chapter 21
Cathy wanders from the Grange and meets Hareton and Heathcliff. Heathcliff encourages a bond with her cousin Linton.
Chapter 22
Cathy and Linton exchange letters, until Nelly discovers and burns them.
Chapter 23
Cathy and Nelly visit Linton at the Heights and find him sick and bad-tempered.
Chapter 24
Nelly falls ill, and Cathy secretly visits Linton night after night.
Chapter 25
Nelly discovers the visits, and Linton begs for help. Edgar reluctantly allows the cousins to meet.
Chapter 26
Edgar permits the cousins to meet on the moors. Heathcliff appears and pushes them toward his house.
Chapter 27
With Edgar close to death, Heathcliff keeps Cathy and Nelly locked in the Heights and forces Cathy to marry Linton.
Chapter 28
Nelly is freed, and Cathy escapes with Linton's help so she can see her dying father.
Chapter 29
Edgar dies and is buried beside Catherine. Heathcliff takes Cathy to the Heights and tells Nelly about opening Catherine's grave.
Chapter 30
Lockwood visits the Heights again. Nelly continues the story of Cathy's unhappy life there.
Chapter 31
Cathy mocks Hareton, but he begins to want to learn. Nelly hopes the two might one day be together.
Chapter 32
In 1802 Lockwood returns to the area and finds that Cathy is teaching Hareton to read.
Chapter 33
Cathy and Hareton become friends. Heathcliff loses interest in his revenge and seems distracted.
Chapter 34
Heathcliff stops eating and dies. He is buried next to Catherine, and Cathy and Hareton plan to marry.
How does Wuthering Heights end?
Heathcliff dies, apparently haunted by Catherine, and is buried beside her. Cathy and Hareton, the next generation, plan to marry and move to Thrushcross Grange.
Why does Heathcliff take revenge on everyone?
Heathcliff is abused by Hindley and loses Catherine when she marries Edgar. He blames both families and sets out to take their property and break their children.
Do Catherine and Heathcliff end up together?
Not in life, because Catherine marries Edgar and dies young. Heathcliff is buried next to her, and local people claim to see their ghosts on the moor.