Linton Heathcliff

*Wuthering Heights* (Masterpiece Theatre, 2009)

Tom Payne (2009)

Master Heathcliff

Cathy Linton (cousin/wife)

### Personalities

Weak, whiny, sickly, demanding, bratty, irritable, sensitive, charming, cruel, obedient, hateful, childish, fearful, gullible, rude, emotional, spoiled, exaggerative

### Appearance

Pale, slim, frail, curly blonde hair, blue eyes

### Allies

Cathy Linton

Isabella Linton

### Enemies

Heathcliff

Hareton Earnshaw

### Likes

Being with Cathy, writing letters to her and back, sitting in his chair, wanting attention

### Goal

To marry Cathy Linton for his father to claim ownership of Thrushcross Grange (succeeded)

### Fate

Marries Cathy, but his health fails and dies shortly thereafter

> "*A pale, delicate, effeminate boy, who might have been taken for my master's younger brother, so strong was the resemblance: but there was a sickly peevishness in his aspect that Edgar Linton never had.*"
> ― Chapter 19
>
>

Linton Heathcliff is a major character in Emily Brontë's *Wuthering Heights*. He is the son of Heathcliff and Isabella Linton and the cousin of Hareton Earnshaw and Cathy Linton.

Linton was abused by his father and meant to be a tool in Heathcliff's plan of revenge for him to claim both houses. His miserable existence and mistreatment take a serious toll on his frail health.

## Description

Linton Heathcliff was conceived during a difficult and troublesome relationship between his parents, Heathcliff and Isabella Linton. Even before he was brought into the world, he may have been blissfully unaware of just how cruel and hateful his life would be to those related to him. To some readers, Linton may be considered unlikable due to his irritating nature. But he is just an unfortunate human being whose life was cut short due to illness or, in most cases, a broken heart.

During the first few years, Linton's life was simple, and it would have stayed that way had his mother lived longer and never been taken to Wuthering Heights. But rather than being a family member, he was used more of a planning device, and when he failed to do his task, he was punished for it. He is essentially tortured to death from being manipulated to give his father what he wants. In addition, Linton was also among the children in the novel who lost their mothers at a young age and were forced to struggle on their own. He lost his mother when he was barely 13 years old, and he tragically lived and died without his mother's love and care, and instead was brutalized by a hostile, demented father.

## Storyline

### Arrival at Yorkshire/Wuthering Heights

Linton was born a sickly, weak child in London to Isabella Linton, who once lived in a wealthy, aristocratic family at Thrushcross Grange in the Yorkshire moors. His father is Heathcliff, a gypsy orphan who grew up at Wuthering Heights, located four miles from Thrushcross Grange. He married Isabella but abused her as revenge for the way her family had mistreated him, resulting in her leaving him and seeking refuge in London, where she gave birth to Linton a few months later.

For several years, Linton and Isabella lived a decent, normal life in London, but Isabella never told her son about his father. When she falls severely ill, she writes to her brother, Edgar, that she’s dying and asks him to come to London to say goodbye, and then he will retrieve Linton and bring him back to Yorkshire, hoping Edgar will have Linton in his care instead of his father.

Shortly after his mother’s death, Edgar takes Linton and returns to Yorkshire. It is evening when they arrive at Thrushcross Grange, and when Edgar greets his daughter, Cathy, the Grange’s servant, Nelly, finds Linton inside the coach, asleep in the corner and wrapped in a fur-lined cloak. When he wakes up, he shakes Nelly’s hand and asks her to close the door and leave him alone, as he’s fatigued from the long journey. Cathy is excited to meet her cousin, but Edgar tells his daughter that Linton is weak and has just lost his mother, so he won’t play with her immediately.

Linton is lifted out of the coach by Edgar, who then introduces him to Cathy. Linton says he wants to go to bed while wiping away some tears. They enter the library, where Nelly removes his hat and coat and places him on a chair. Linton starts to cry and says he can’t sit on a chair, so Edgar asks him to sit on the sofa, and Nelly will bring him some tea. He hobbled to the sofa, where he lay down. Cathy brings him a footstool and starts kissing him, stroking his curly hair, and offering him her tea, which makes him happy. Edgar hopes that Linton will grow stronger if he stays at Thrushcross Grange, but after Linton goes to bed, Heathcliff’s servant, Joseph, arrives and informs Edgar that his master wants his son. Edgar says Linton will be brought over tomorrow.

Nelly awakens Linton at 5 o’clock in the morning. Linton refuses to get out of bed and is surprised to learn he must prepare for more travelling. Nelly softens the situation by telling him he’s going to spend time with his father. Linton says his mother never told him he had a father and asks where he lives. Nelly replies that he lives a distance from Thrushcross Grange. He can easily walk back here once he’s healthy, and he should be grateful he is meeting his father and should learn to love him.

Linton says he never knew his father and wonders why he and his mother never lived together. Nelly says he had to tend to business in the north, and his mother’s health requires him to live in London. Nelly also says that his mother would’ve wanted him to live with his father if she talked more about him. He asks if Edgar and Cathy are coming, but Nelly says they are not coming, as she will be his companion. He refuses to leave without Edgar, so Nelly calls for Edgar to help her coax Linton to get out of bed. After they make up promises to him, such as that Edgar and Cathy will visit him, Linton gets up and rides on Cathy’s pony. Minny, with Nelly leading the way.

After a final glimpse of the valley, Linton asks if Wuthering Heights is pleasant like Thrushcross Grange. Nelly explains that Wuthering Heights isn't as large as Thrushcross Grange and may look dark and depressing, but it is surrounded by beautiful scenery, where he can explore and thrive in the countryside. Linton next asks what his father is like and if he's handsome like Edgar. Nelly replies that he's tall and stern, with black hair and eyes. He's not exactly gentle and kind like Edgar, but if Linton respects him, he will lighten up on him. Linton wonders why his father never came to see him, as he has never seen him before. Nelly says that since his father lived so far away from London, he only planned to visit him occasionally in the summer but never did.

Linton becomes lost in his thoughts for the rest of the ride. When he arrives at the garden gate to the house, he surveys the building and feels disappointed. Nelly opens the door and greets his father, Heathcliff, his cousin Hareton and their servant, Joseph, who has just finished breakfast. Linton becomes frightened when he sees them, and Nelly asks him to dismount and come inside. He doesn't understand what Heathcliff is saying, but he clings to Nelly and cries when Heathcliff summons him to come forward. Heathcliff pulls him forward, assuring him he won't hurt him. He removes his hat and inspects his curly hair, pale complexion and blue eyes. Linton stops crying, and Heathcliff asks if he knows him. Linton trembles and replies no. Heathcliff declares that he is his father and calls Isabella a slut for leaving him in his custody. Nelly urges Heathcliff to be kind to his son, or he cannot keep him. Heathcliff assures that he will be kind to Linton and become a gentleman for everything he does to him, even though Heathcliff despises Linton.

Joseph is ordered to make some porridge for Linton and serves it to him. But Linton is disgusted and refuses to eat it. Heathcliff asks what he should eat, and Nelly suggests serving him boiled milk or tea. While Linton is petting the dog, Nelly sneaks out and shuts the door. When he sees her go, he begs her not to leave him, but she mounts onto Minny and rides back to Thrushcross Grange.

### Relationship with Cathy Linton

Three years passed since Linton was taken to Wuthering Heights and into the custody of his father. One afternoon, he stands on the hearth after going for a walk and demands Joseph bring him dry shoes. He has grown taller and is a few months away from his 16th birthday. His blonde curls and blue eyes have almost stayed intact. Heathcliff brings Nelly and Cathy back to Wuthering Heights after encountering them on the moors. Heathcliff asks Linton if he remembers Cathy, and when she recognizes him, she gets excited and kisses him. They gaze at each other and are equally surprised at how they have changed during the past three years. Cathy assumes Heathcliff is her uncle and asks why he doesn't visit her at the Grange. He replies he only went there a few times before she was born. But he has a bitter feud with Edgar and will surely forbid Cathy from revisiting the Heights if he finds out about her visit. Cathy asks why they are feuding, and Heathcliff claims that Edgar has become depressed after he married Isabella and has never forgiven him. Cathy wants Linton to visit her at the Grange, but Linton says he is too weak to walk four miles and wants her to visit him instead. Heathcliff orders him to take Cathy to the gardens and the stables. Linton wants her to sit with him as he doesn't want to get up and move.

Heathcliff calls for Hareton, and he comes inside. Cathy asks if Hareton is her cousin, and Heathcliff replies that he is, as he is her mother's nephew. He then orders Hareton to give Cathy a tour around the property. While the couple are outside, Heathcliff urges Linton to go after them, and he gets up and joins them. Cathy asks Hareton about the inscription carved above the door. Hareton says he can't read it, and Linton giggles and tells Cathy that he can't read because of his illiteracy. Cathy thinks he is stupid for not understanding her, and Linton mocks Hareton for his poor Yorkshire pronunciation. Hareton is humiliated as Linton and Cathy burst out laughing, and he storms off.

Soon afterwards, Heathcliff manipulates Linton to start a correspondence with Cathy, and he starts writing letters to her. But the correspondence abruptly ends when Nelly forces Cathy to destroy the letters.

One cold, misty morning, Linton sits in his chair, whining to Joseph that he is cold until he sees Cathy. He says his father told him she would come to see him. While Nelly stirs the ashes and brings some coal, Linton complains of being covered with ashes, and Cathy asks if he’s happy to see her. Linton says that he’s tired of always writing to her and that she should have visited him. He doesn’t thank Nelly for warming the room and asks for Zillah. Nelly says only Joseph is here, and Linton wants a drink, saying that Zillah has been away in Gimmerton since his father departed for a week and is miserable. His father pays little attention to him and tells Cathy that he hates Hareton for the way he mocks him. Cathy offers him water with a spoonful of wine, and he appears calm.

Cathy asks him if he’s happy to see her again. Linton replies that he is, but he has been weak since her absence, and his father told him Cathy hates him. Cathy insists to Linton that she loves him, but not Heathcliff. She asks how long he will be absent, and Linton says he usually spends his time in the moors, and this is the right time for her to stay with him for a few hours at Wuthering Heights. Cathy says he will definitely spend time with him if she receives her father’s permission first and wishes he was her brother. Linton then says she would love him more than her father if she were his wife. She denies that she’ll love anyone other than her father and claims that husbands sometimes hate their wives, not their siblings. Edgar would have been fonder of him if he had stayed at Thrushcross Grange. Linton denies that men hate their wives, but Cathy insists they do by comparing her father Edgar’s relationship with his mother, Isabella.

Linton and Cathy then get into a heated argument about their fathers hating each other. Cathy angrily tells him she hates him, and he mocks her, saying that her mother hated her father, as he sits in his chair. She gets frustrated and shoves his chair, causing him to fall to the floor and have a coughing fit. Nelly tends to him until Linton pushes her away, and he calls Cathy cruel and spiteful for striking him. Cathy mutters that she didn’t strike him, and he lays on the floor and moans for a quarter of an hour to make her feel bad. She apologizes for shoving him, but he tells her that because she pushed him, he will suffer from more coughing fits and agony for the whole night. He starts wailing, and Nelly tells him Cathy won’t be here to help him if he spends the night feverish and alone. Cathy asks him if she should leave him, and he says she cannot change for what she has done. Afterwards, he says he wants to be alone and doesn’t want to talk to her. When Cathy and Nelly prepare to leave, Linton slides from his seat and writhes on the hearth. Cathy rushes to him and comforts him. Nelly says she will put him on the settle and tells her if she’s satisfied, she cannot cure his illness and orders her to leave him alone.

Cathy props Linton up with some pillows, but he keeps complaining that they are too high. He rests his head on her shoulder, and Nelly tells him he’s being too comfortable. Cathy insists he is doing fine, and Linton tells her she must visit him to cure him after she hurt him. She decides they are still friends and asks if he will see her sometimes. He begs her to sit on the hearth and let him lie on her knee, just like he did with his mother, and she can either sing or recite poetry. At 12 o’clock, Hareton is returning home, and Linton grabs Cathy’s dress, asking if she will return tomorrow. She says no but whispers something in his ear before leaving with Nelly. For a few nights afterwards, Cathy secretly left Thrushcross Grange and visited Linton at Wuthering Heights.

During one of Cathy’s visits, Linton and Cathy are informed by Zillah that Joseph is away at a prayer meeting, and Hareton is out hunting with the dogs, so they can do whatever they feel like today. Linton is in a cheerful mood, and he and Cathy laugh and talk merrily about what they plan to do together. However, another time, Linton and Cathy argue about what to do on a summer day. He wants to lay on a bank of heath by the moors throughout the day, and she wants to sit under a tree, listen to the birds and feel the breeze. Afterwards, they agree to do both and make up. Later that day, Cathy wants to play Blindman’s buff with Zillah, but Linton would rather want to play ball. They find some balls in a cupboard full of old toys and find two balls with the initials “H” and “C.” Cathy constantly wins in the game, and Linton gets upset again. That night, he becomes cheerful again, and Cathy sings to him until she leaves. She promises Linton to return the following evening.

But the next day, when Cathy sees him after she mocks Hareton’s illiteracy, she is about to read a book to Linton when Hareton bursts angrily inside, grabs Linton and throws him off his chair, yelling at him to go to his room. He throws Linton and Cathy into the kitchen, and Linton, pale and angry, grabs the door handle and shakes it, screaming at Hareton to let him out or he will kill him. Joseph laughs at them, and Cathy tries to restrain Linton, who continues screaming until he starts coughing up blood and faints. After Hareton finds him, he carries him upstairs. Three days later, Linton lies on a sofa in his bedroom, reading one of Cathy’s books. When Cathy arrives to see him, he doesn’t talk to her for an hour until he blames her for his humiliation the other day, and she leaves immediately. Two days later, Linton is lying half asleep in an armchair in the parlour when Cathy returns, and she informs him that she has come to say goodbye, as she doesn’t want to visit him again. He invites her to sit and laments that he hates everyone and has a violent temper. He begs her for forgiveness, and when she does reconcile with him, they cried during her whole visit. She visits him three times, but he acts selfishly and spitefully to her. During Cathy’s Sunday visit, Heathcliff abuses Linton for his conduct the previous night, and Cathy tries to talk about it to Heathcliff, but he just laughs.

### Marriage to Cathy/Death

Edgar orders Cathy to stop visiting Linton at Wuthering Heights.

## Personality/Appearance

Throughout his short life, Linton has been physically sick and weak, not having the proper strength to walk a four-mile distance between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. When he first arrives at Thrushcross Grange, it appears to be an idyllic place for him to grow strong and healthy, but his time there is cut short as he is brought into the cruel, unkempt moors at Wuthering Heights, where his fragile health will only get worse from his father’s abuse and ambitions. Having lived a decent childhood with his mother in London, Linton never knew his father until he met him for the first time after Nelly brought him to Wuthering Heights. The moment he meets his father, who insults his mother, and detests him that he’s related to the Lintons, he immediately becomes terrified of him and lives under his roof for the next three years.

Linton is hated for his weak, whiny voice and constantly complains about everything, but he mostly demands attention. Whenever Cathy sees him, he relies on her to take care of him and act like his mother figure, as he expects to be treated fairly and wants her loving care to make him feel better. But when Cathy’s correspondence with him through letters abruptly ends, she has to tend to him every day when Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights for a week. Linton is prone to strong emotions and easily cries when Heathcliff takes his cruelty out on him or makes him court Cathy. He is also gullible, as Heathcliff easily manipulates him to fall in love with Cathy and marry her to claim the inheritance of Thrushcross Grange. This makes him terrified of his father, as he always fears what he will do to him if he fails to do what he’s ordered to do, and his intense fear causes him to barely reveal the truth to Cathy about what his father wants with them. As such, he has feminine traits, such as being weak, fragile and passive, while Cathy has masculine traits, such as being fearless and headstrong.

Despite his charming appearance, Linton can be selfish and cruel. Having lived with his father for a few years, he may have inherited his traits. He hates Hareton for bullying and mistreating him, to the point when he openly mocks Hareton’s illiteracy and poor Yorkshire accent to Cathy. However, he can be cruel to Cathy, and after she shoves his chair following an argument about their fathers, Linton exploits his frail health and weakness so that he can make her feel guilty for hurting him and make her nurse him. Deep down, he only does this to have more control over her. Another time, they argue about what they should do on a summer day. After he blames her for his humiliation when Hareton angrily shoves him into the kitchen, he begs for forgiveness when Cathy tells him she doesn’t want to see him again. His weakness and hateful nature spawn a conflict between him, Cathy and Hareton. Additionally, once he marries Cathy, he forces her to give up all her possessions to him, as they now belong to him. No matter how much Cathy begs him to release her so she can see her dying father, even bribing him with her locket, he still refuses to let her go. He also watches gleefully as Heathcliff breaks Cathy’s locket by stomping on it and hitting her across the face, but he immediately expresses guilt and shame when he sees her mouth bleeding.

Despite his weak, selfish nature, Linton still has some redeeming qualities. While he hardly shows gratitude to Cathy for nursing him, he still cares about her and ends up helping her escape so she can be at her father’s deathbed. Almost immediately after their wedding, Linton’s health fails rapidly and then passes away, with only Cathy attending to him and nobody else. Perhaps the one thing that is emotional about Linton’s death is that he died unloved and never accomplished anything great in his life. However, his death will mark the turning point that will finally heal the wounds of two rivalling families, their surviving generations, and Heathcliff’s ruthless cycle of revenge.

Linton is often described as thin and pale, with curly blonde hair and blue eyes.

## Relationships

### Heathcliff

Linton's father. After losing his mother, Linton was sent to live with his father after arriving in Yorkshire. At first, Nelly assures Linton that Heathcliff is a good and kind man, but Linton instantly becomes afraid of him once he is taken into Heathcliff's home. He was abused and mistreated by him into having his father gain the inheritance of Thrushcross Grange. Scared of what Heathcliff might do to him if he disobeys, he always does exactly as he is told forcefully by him.

### Isabella Linton

Linton's mother. Not much is known about their relationship, although Linton must have been close and loved by her while they lived together in London.

### Cathy Linton

Linton's cousin and his wife. After being manipulated by his father to love her, Linton corresponds with Cathy through letters and has her look after him while she is at Wuthering Heights. But he can also be cruel towards her and comes up with different ways, such as writhing on the floor, to make her more sympathetic and caring for him. After he marries her, his health fails, and he dies.

### Hareton Earnshaw

Linton's cousin. He is often treated unfairly by Hareton and is a victim of his aggressiveness. One time, Linton was pushed and shoved by Hareton while he was in a bad mood, as well as being one of the servants who cannot stand Linton's weak and whiny demands.

## Portrayals

* In the 1978 BBC Two miniseries, Linton is portrayed by Andrew Burleigh.
* In the 1992 film adaptation, Linton is portrayed by Jonathan Firth.
* In the 1998 ITV TV film, Linton is portrayed by William Mannering.
* In the 2009 Masterpiece Theatre TV film, Linton is portrayed by Tom Payne.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 17
2. ↑ Chapter 18
3. ↑ Chapter 19
4. ↑ Chapter 20
5. ↑ Chapter 21
6. ↑ Chapter 23
7. ↑ Chapter 24
8. ↑ Chapter 25