Nelly Dean

* 1939
* 1970
* 1978
* 1992
* 1998
* 2009
* 2011

*Wuthering Heights* (2011)

Simone Jackson (2011)

The Dame

Cathy Linton (caregiver to/mother-figure to

### Personalities

Sensible, high-spirited, independent, caring, maternal, compassionate, kind, confidant, assertive, unreliable (when narrating), educated, fluent, wise, strong, protective, diligent, sympathetic, loyal

### Allies

Catherine Earnshaw
Cathy Linton
Hareton Earnshaw
Edgar Linton

Mr. Earnshaw

### Likes

Doing housework, knitting, sewing, caring for Hareton and Cathy, narrating Heathcliff's story to Lockwood.

### Dislikes

Heathcliff's first arrival at Wuthering Heights, Cathy Linton running off near the Heights

### Goal

To narrate the main story to Mr. Lockwood (succeeded)
To be a loyal and devoted caregiver and servant to the Earnshaw's and Linton's (succeeded)
To guard and protect Cathy Linton from being exposed to Heathcliff's vengeful acts at Wuthering Heights (succeeded, then failed)
To be a servant at the Heights and be closer to Cathy (succeeded)

### Fate

After Heathcliff dies, Nelly tells Lockwood that Cathy and Hareton are planning to marry and move to Thrushcross Grange, and may have gone back with them.

### Famous quotes

"Honest people don't hide their deeds."

> "*A person who has not done one half his day's work by ten o'clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.*"
> ― Chapter 7
>
>

Nelly Dean is a major character and narrator in Emily Brontë's *Wuthering Heights*.

Nelly is a servant to the Earnshaw and the Linton families and a caregiver and mother figure to Hareton Earnshaw and Cathy Linton. She is also one of the main narrators, as she narrates the central part of the novel, all witnessed from her point of view, while Lockwood documents everything.

## Description

Nelly Dean is a specific character who witnesses most of the story of Wuthering Heights and tells in her own words what she has seen and heard. Having grown up with some of the major characters, including Heathcliff, she knew that the life she had seen was not always perfect and would only worsen the older she became. But she had managed to cope with those struggles with her personality and physical strength.

Nelly has been a longtime servant to both families: the Earnshaws of Wuthering Heights and the Lintons of Thrushcross Grange. For years she had seen the brutal feud between the Earnshaws Heathcliff and the opposing Lintons, and she even serves as some "bridge" as her employment in both houses brings them closer and allows Heathcliff to carry out his vengeful acts. But with the power of her kindness and helpfulness, she could protect and guide the suffering characters whom Heathcliff victimized.

Aside from being a housekeeper and servant, she is also a mother figure. When Hindley Earnshaw's wife died of consumption, she was offered to look after his infant son Hareton and raise him as her own for a couple of years until she left him to be with Catherine and Edgar at the Grange. After her mistress died in childbirth, Nelly was assigned again to look after the namesake daughter and serve as a mother figure to her. Even as Cathy becomes imprisoned and kept in the Heights, Nelly offers to be a servant there so that she can still be with the young girl she had been close and protective over since Cathy's infancy.

## Storyline

### Early Years at Wuthering Heights

Nelly Dean was the daughter of a nursemaid/wet nurse who nursed Hindley Earnshaw, and he had a sister named Catherine Earnshaw. They are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw, who lived at Wuthering Heights in the mid-1770s. She grew fond of the children, played with them, and did errands like harvesting hay.

One summer morning, at the beginning of harvest season, Mr. Earnshaw prepares to go on a business trip to Liverpool while the children have breakfast. He asks his children what they want him to bring home. Hindley requests a fiddle and Catherine a whip. He promises Nelly to bring her fruit before he bids his family goodbye and leaves.

Three days pass following Mr. Earnshaw’s departure. Catherine would ask her mother when her father would be home, and Mrs. Earnshaw hoped he would return on the third evening; she had even placed their meal on hold. But, by the evening, Mr. Earnshaw is not home yet, and the children get tired of running to the gate. As it darkens, the children beg to stay up late, and at 11 o’clock, Mr. Earnshaw comes in. He sits down, groaning but laughing, and rants about his exhausting trip home.

Everyone gathers around and sees a dirty, dark-haired child around Catherine’s age. He looks around curiously and speaks in a language they can’t understand. Nelly is frightened, and Mrs. Earnshaw wants to throw the boy out of their house, as they already have their own children to look after. Mr. Earnshaw, still fatigued, explains how he found the boy starving and homeless on the streets of Liverpool. He tried to find his owners, but nobody knew who he was or who he belonged to. His time in Liverpool was limited, so he decided to take the child home with him.

Mr. Earnshaw asks Nelly to wash the boy, dress him cleanly, and let him sleep with the children. Hindley and Catherine are disappointed when they learn they didn’t receive the gifts their father promised them, and they refuse to share their rooms with the child. Nelly leaves him on the stairs landing, hoping he might be gone tomorrow, but he goes to Mr. Earnshaw’s room and finds him there. Nelly is made to confess, and as punishment, Mr. Earnshaw makes her leave the house. When she returns a few days later, she discovers that they have christened and named the boy Heathcliff after a deceased infant son. Catherine has grown fond of him, while Hindley, Nelly, and Mrs. Earnshaw hate him.

Heathcliff was known as a quiet, sulky child who took his beatings by Hindley without crying, and whenever Nelly pinched him, he would make it look like an accident. Mr. Earnshaw is enraged when he sees Heathcliff mistreated, choosing him as his favourite child over Catherine. After Mrs. Earnshaw’s death less than two years later, Hindley became crueller to Heathcliff due to his jealousy of his father being more affectionate to Heathcliff. Nelly shows sympathy for Heathcliff for a while, and when the children, including Heathcliff, contract scarlet fever, Nelly has to tend to them. Heathcliff is severely ill, and Nelly is constantly looking after him. While Catherine and Hindley bothered her during their treatment, Heathcliff was quiet and never complained.

Heathcliff recovers, and the doctor praises Nelly for nursing him and the children back to health. From that moment on, Nelly lightens up on him, although she couldn’t truly dote on him, and Hindley is on his own to oppose his foster brother. She wonders about her master’s affection toward his adopted child; however, the boy hardly shows any gratitude. One time, Mr. Earnshaw bought two young horses for his sons, and when Heathcliff’s horse falls lame, he fights with Hindley over the handsome one. Nelly steps in to stop the fight, and if she didn’t, Heathcliff would have run off to tell Mr. Earnshaw. Hindley ends up giving up his horse, insulting and threatening him, and then he knocks Heathcliff under his feet just as he takes the horse. Nelly is surprised to see how calmly Heathcliff took it. He exchanges saddles and sits on the hay to overcome the painful blow he received. She persuades him that he got his bruises from the horse, but Heathcliff doesn’t look concerned.

Several years later, Mr. Earnshaw’s health begins to fail. He becomes more irritable as he spends most of his time alone, and nobody in the household bothers him. He still adores Heathcliff and gets angrier whenever Hindley bullies him. His curate advises him to send his son to college, and he agrees. With Hindley gone, Nelly hopes there will be some peace at home, although she is hurt by her master having to agree to the good deed. Mr. Earnshaw grows weaker, and Joseph offers him comfort.

Catherine is constantly causing mischief daily and is now fond of Heathcliff. Nelly and the servants try to separate them, yet she still acts bossy. She would tease her ailing, irritated father, and he would scold her for her wild behaviour, even recalling she was worse than her brother. Whenever Catherine cries after being punished, Nelly tries to console her, but Catherine laughs.

One stormy night in October, Nelly knits while Mr. Earnshaw sits by the fireplace, and Catherine and Heathcliff snuggle with their father. Mr. Earnshaw asks Catherine if she would be a good daughter, and she kisses him and sings him to sleep. Nelly then tells her to be quiet, and everyone is silent for half an hour while Joseph finishes his Bible and says his prayers to the master before bed. He attempts to wake him, and the master doesn’t move. Joseph shines his light on him and tells the children to go to bed. Catherine wants to say goodnight to her father but sees Mr. Earnshaw dead.

Nelly joins Catherine and Heathcliff as they weep until Joseph tells her to put on her cloak and go to the nearby village of Gimmerton to fetch the doctor and parson. She travels through the storm and only brings back the doctor, as the parson would come in the morning. She goes to the children’s bedroom to find their door ajar and finds Heathcliff and Catherine are still awake after midnight. She sees how calm they are, and they talk about Heaven being a beautiful place, leaving her sobbing as she listens.

Hindley returns home for his father’s funeral and brings his new wife, Frances, who nobody knows who she is or where she came from. She takes some delight in her new home, though Nelly finds her to be a silly woman. She had to accompany her to one of the rooms instead of tending to the children. Frances sat down shivering and turned hysterical. Nelly asks what is wrong with her and replies that she fears death. Hindley has changed into a polished gentleman during his absence, and after he arrives at the Heights, he makes Joseph and Nelly move to the back kitchen as he takes control of the house. Frances fails to bond with her sister-in-law Catherine and Hindley becomes stricter in the household as his wife becomes more irritated. Frances’ resentment toward Heathcliff makes Hindley take out his hatred for him by cutting off his education and making him work as one of the servants.

Despite his hard labour, Heathcliff seeks comfort with Catherine as they spend their time together in the fields and behave like savages. Hindley mostly ignores them, even not seeing them after they go to church on Sundays. Joseph and the curate would scold him for his reckless supervision, and they convinced him to flog them as punishment.

Heathcliff and Catherine would run outside in the morning and stay out all day. They would laugh at the punishments given to them by the curate and Joseph until they forgot the time they were together. The couple then begins plotting a plan of revenge, which leaves Nelly concerned about their behaviour.

One Sunday night, Heathcliff and Catherine are dismissed from the sitting room for being disruptive. Nelly calls them for supper but can’t find them anywhere. She and the others search the house, yard, and stables, but they are gone. Hindley orders all the doors to be locked, not letting the couple in. After everyone goes to bed, Nelly stays awake, anxious to sleep, and opens her window. She listens through the rain for the missing couple, determined to let them in despite Hindley’s orders. She sees someone coming up the road with a glowing lantern and puts on her shawl to warn the person to prevent waking Hindley from knocking.

It is Heathcliff, and Nelly is startled to see him without Catherine. She asks him where she is, and Heathcliff replies that she is at Thrushcross Grange, but the residents there won’t let him stay there. Nelly wonders why he and Catherine were at the Grange. Heathcliff says he needs to change his wet clothes first and then tell her what has happened. She reminds him to be careful about waking up the master.

Heathcliff quickly undresses and explains that he and Catherine left the wash house to seek freedom and go to the Grange, as they decide to see how the Linton family spends their Sunday evenings there. He wonders if the Linton children’s parents spend their average evening eating, singing, sitting by the fire, or listening to their servant deliver a sermon. Nelly assures that the Linton children are well-behaved and don’t deserve strict religious treatment. Heathcliff continues that he and Catherine raced from the Heights to the Grange. Catherine trailed behind barefoot, and Heathcliff tells Nelly she needs to find her shoes in the bog tomorrow morning. They sneaked to a window and peeked inside.

Edgar and Isabella were inside the drawing room, fighting over a dog, and Heathcliff and Catherine were laughing at them. Nelly interrupts him about how Catherine got separated. Heathcliff explains further that he and Catherine laughed until the Lintons spotted them and called for their parents. Heathcliff and Catherine tried to escape, but the Linton guard dog bit Catherine on the heel. A servant found Catherine and brought her inside, and Heathcliff followed them in.

The Lintons are disgusted by Heathcliff’s filthy appearance and foreign language, and he was ordered to leave. Before he left, Heathcliff spied the Lintons treating Catherine and saw that she loved their attention.

Nelly puts out the candle and covers Heathcliff, warning him of what Hindley will have to deal with. The next day, Mr. Linton comes to the Heights and lectures Hindley for his negligence. Instead of beating Heathcliff, Hindley forbids him from talking to Catherine, and Frances is to look after her sister-in-law in her care.

Five weeks later, Catherine returns as a proper noblewoman. She arrives at Wuthering Heights on horseback wearing a lovely silk dress and has curly hair. Hindley and Frances admire her new appearance. Nelly is busy baking a cake for Christmas when Catherine comes in and kisses her, then searches for Heathcliff. When she finds him, Heathcliff is disgusted with how she criticized him for his dirty face and hair. After she finishes baking, Nelly sings Christmas carols alone. Joseph retires to his room for a private prayer, and Hindley and Frances offer Catherine gifts.

A Christmas party is arranged, and the Lintons are invited. Nelly spends her time alone in the kitchen and admiring the Christmas decor. She remembers how Mr. Earnshaw would praise her when she tidied the kitchen and gave her a shilling. Heathcliff is not invited to the party, but the night before, Nelly saw how much kindness he had received from the late master, and now he is alone and neglected. She takes pity on him and offers to help him clean up and dress appropriately to impress Catherine. He refuses at first, but after returning from the moors the next day, he changes his mind and allows Nelly to dress him. She reminds him to handle his behaviour around Edgar.

After Edgar criticizes Heathcliff's appearance during the party, Heathcliff throws applesauce at Edgar's face before he is locked away in the attic. The rest of the guests spend the evening having dinner and singing carols. After dinner, Heathcliff is released from his room, and Nelly gives him some food, as he hasn't eaten for two days, and he tells her he is planning revenge on Hindley. She urges him to learn how to forgive, as revenge isn't necessary, but it won't let him change his mind.

### Catherine’s Proposal

In the summer of 1778, Frances gave birth to a boy named Hareton. Nelly is out on the fields when a servant informs her about the child's birth, but his mother's health is failing, and she is on the brink of death. She was told to nurse the infant and raise him herself. After Frances dies a week later, Nelly looks after Hareton, while Hindley starts drinking heavily and takes his rage out on the servants and inhabitants. Meanwhile, Catherine stays in touch with the Lintons, and Heathcliff is disapproved of her being closer to their neighbours.

Sometime later, Hindley tells Nelly to chaperone Catherine, who is with Edgar, after he comes over. Catherine demands her to leave, and when Nelly refuses, she is pinched by her and shakes Hareton. She eventually leaves the couple alone, but when she returns later that night to warn them that Hindley is coming home drunk, she senses that Catherine and Edgar have made their love confessions.

Nelly hides Hareton in the kitchen cupboard and unloads the ammo from Hindley's gun he would use while drunk.She is later in the kitchen rocking Hareton and humming to him; when Catherine, hearing her from her room, comes in and asks her if she is alone before she enters and goes by the hearth, looking anxious. Nelly continues her song when Catherine interrupts her by asking where Heathcliff is. She replies that he is working in the stable. There is a long pause when Nelly notices Catherine shedding a tear and wonders if she regrets having her outburst earlier. Catherine then cries that she is miserable, and Nelly remarks that she is difficult to control. Catherine kneels, looks up at her and begs her to keep a secret. Nelly asks her if it’s worth it.

Catherine reveals Edgar had just proposed marriage to her, and before she reveals if she accepted or rejected him, she asks her which one it could have been. Nelly hints that due to her tantrum that she threw and Edgar foolishly proposing to her afterward, she had turned him down. Not wanting to talk anymore, Catherine impatiently rises and confirms she accepted him. Nelly is surprised at her choice but asks why she still wants to discuss it since she cannot go back now. Catherine angrily wants her to know how she had chosen either choice. Nelly expresses that she has much to consider before properly accepting the proposal. She asks her if she does love Edgar. Catherine says she does.

Nelly then asks her questions, such as why Catherine loves Edgar. She replies that he is handsome, young, cheerful, and enjoys being with him. She also says he is wealthy, loves her, and will be well-off once she marries him. Nelly detests her replies and then asks her how she loves him. Catherine says she loves everything he is surrounded by and how he looks, speaks, and does. Nelly wants to know why, but Catherine berates her for making a joke and turns toward the fireplace. Nelly says she is being serious and tells her that while she loves Edgar for those reasons, she didn’t answer the last question properly. Catherine thinks she should be compassionate to him but would hate him if he was ugly and foolish. Nelly reminds her that other young men are more handsome and rich than Edgar, making it difficult to love any of them. She claims none are like him, and Nelly says there are still some other attractive men, as he won’t always be handsome, young, and rich. Catherine still thinks Edgar is what he is and wants Nelly to be more reasonable.

Nelly gives in and allows Catherine to marry Edgar. Catherine doesn’t want her permission, but Nelly wants to know what makes her unhappy. Nelly assumes that Hindley would be pleased with her and that Mr. and Mrs. Linton would be glad to have her. She would be able to live in an upper-class home, and she and Edgar love each other but is curious about what is standing in her way.

Catherine claims she isn’t convinced from her soul and heart, saying it is her secret. Even though she can’t say it clearly, she still wants to tell her how she feels. Catherine sits down, and after a few minutes, she asks Nelly if she has strange dreams. She replies that she does now and then. Catherine explains that she had dreams that stayed with her forever and changed her thoughts. She has a dream she is ready to reveal but reminds Nelly not to laugh. She tells her to be more cheerful, like Hareton, when he’s sleeping. Catherine remarks on his father cursing when he’s alone and how he used to be young and innocent like his son. She now wants to talk about her dream.

Nelly repeatedly says she won’t hear it since she is superstitious about dreams, and Catherine’s misery makes her fear that something terrible will happen. Catherine then changes the subject and says she will be miserable if she is in heaven. Nelly tells her she won’t go there as all sinners would be in heaven. Catherine claims she dreamed of it once, and Nelly interrupts her by saying she won’t listen to her dreams and she’ll go to bed. She prepares to leave her chair, but Catherine laughs and puts her back on her seat.

Catherine replies that she was explaining that heaven wasn’t her home, and she heartbreakingly cried to be brought back to earth. The infuriated angels brought her back to the moors at the Heights, where she woke up weeping with joy and was willing to reveal a secret she had and another one. She is ready to marry Edgar than be in heaven; due to Heathcliff’s low social status of Hindley’s mistreatment, Catherine knew she would be degraded if she married him. But she still loves him so much that she claims they share the same souls, and Edgar’s is different from theirs.

Afterwards, Nelly feels Heathcliff’s presence, and hearing a slight movement, she turns her head to see him get up from a bench and run out. While talking with Catherine, Heathcliff had been listening to their conversation and left when Catherine said marrying him would degrade her. She prevents Catherine from discovering his presence and departure and tells her it is just Joseph coming up the road and Heathcliff will follow him shortly. She isn’t sure if he is at the door at the exact moment. Catherine doesn’t think Joseph overheard their conversation. She asks Nelly to give Hareton to her while she prepares dinner and eats with her, while she mocks Heathcliff’s misunderstanding of the wealthy.

Nelly reminds Catherine that if she chooses Heathcliff, he will be miserable with her. If she chooses Edgar, Heathcliff will lose her and be alone. She questions how she would deal with being separated from Heathcliff, but Catherine declares that nothing will keep her and Heathcliff apart for as long as she lives. Heathcliff will still mean everything to her; while Edgar may not get along with him, he will understand her true feelings for Heathcliff. She thinks that if she marries Heathcliff, they will both be poor, but if she marries Edgar, she could help Heathcliff improve his lifestyle. Nelly is concerned that Catherine can do that with Edgar’s money and thinks it is the worst thing she could do.

Catherine retorts that it’ll satisfy her and Edgar for his sake and her feelings for him. She remarks that she shared Heathcliff’s troubles, and if everything dies and he lives, she will live, too; but if everything remains and Heathcliff dies, the universe will turn stranger. Her relationship with Edgar will change over time, while her love for Heathcliff will be eternal. She then declares that she is Heathcliff, not as her pleasure, but as her own being. She tells Nelly not to discuss her separation from Heathcliff again, pausing and hiding her face in Nelly’s gown. Nelly jerks it forcibly away from her as she is fed up with her foolishness.

Nelly tells Catherine that she is too foolish to marry and won’t accept or keep any of her secrets. When Catherine asks if she would keep her secret, Nelly refuses. Catherine is about to insist when Joseph enters and ends the conversation. Catherine looks after Hareton in her corner seat while Nelly prepares dinner. Afterwards, she and another servant argue about who should bring some to Hindley; the food went cold when they settled on it. They agree they will let him ask for it, as they fear delivering the food in his presence. Joseph asks about Heathcliff’s whereabouts, and Nelly calls him, assuming he’s in the barn.

She calls him, but there isn’t any answer. She whispers to Catherine how Heathcliff heard most of their conversation and fled from the kitchen when she talked about her brother’s conduct of him. Catherine sits up frightened, flings Hareton onto the settle, and runs to find Heathcliff without considering why she is so anxious or how her conversation affected him. After Catherine is absent for a while, Joseph suggests they shouldn’t wait anymore. He also adds that he would have made his special prayers and grace at supper if only Catherine interrupted him by running away and bringing Heathcliff back.

Nelly insists she still wants to talk to Heathcliff before bed. She says the gate is still open, and he should be out there, as he didn’t reply to her calls. Joseph first protests, then he puts on his hat and walks out. Meanwhile, Catherine paces around the floor, wondering where Heathcliff is, what she had said during her talk, or if he was bothered by her tantrum and hopes he will turn up. Nelly chastises her for her worries, assuming he went out for an evening walk on the moors or wasn’t in the mood to reply to Nelly. She searches again but again cannot find him. Joseph also cannot find Heathcliff and complains that he has gotten worse; since he allegedly left the gate open and allowed Catherine’s horse to trod on the corn fields, Hindley complained about it the next day. Catherine interrupts him to see if he has found Heathcliff yet. Joseph says he is more interested in looking for the horse than Heathcliff and won’t look for either of them on a dark night, even saying Heathcliff is not the kind of boy who would respond to his calls.

It is a very dark evening in the summer, and storm clouds appear. Nelly suggests they all sit down and wait, as the approaching rainstorm will surely let Heathcliff come home. Catherine won’t sit still and searches the house again from the gate and front door. Despite the rain and thunder, Catherine calls out and cries louder. At around midnight, the storm rages over the Heights with strong winds and thunder. A tree nearby is split in half. A large tree branch falls across the roof, knocking down part of the east chimney stack and sending rocks and soot into the kitchen fireplace. Joseph gets onto his knees and prays. The thunder passes after about 20 minutes.

Shortly afterwards, Catherine comes in drenched from standing outside in the rain and refusing to shelter herself. She sits on the settle, and Nelly tells her it’s half past midnight and she must go to bed. It is useless to wait for Heathcliff now as he may have gone to Gimmerton and would stay there. He thinks nobody would wait for him this late and that Hindley would still be awake when he returns. Joseph says he is not at Gimmerton but thinks he has sunk in the bog. Nelly begs Catherine to take off her wet clothes with Joseph preaching before Nelly goes to bed with Hareton. She hears Joseph read for a bit, then he descends up the ladder to his attic room, and she falls asleep.

Sometime later, Nelly sees Catherine sitting by the fireplace as the sun lightens the room. Hindley gets up and asks Catherine why she is damp and miserable, and she replies that she’s been wet and cold. Seeing that Hindley is sober, Nelly tells him that Catherine was out in the rain last night and sat at the hearth all night without going to bed. Hindley is curious about what kept her up, and nobody mentions Heathcliff missing for as long as they could hide it. Nelly opens the window and lets the morning scent come in. Catherine demands her to close the window and says she’s starving.

Hindley takes her wrist and notices she is not feeling well. He guesses this is why she wasn’t in bed and can’t have her sick here. He asks her why she is out in the rain. Joseph says she was off chasing after Heathcliff and Edgar and tells him to keep them out of the house. He claims Edgar sneaked around the property, and while Catherine was with Nelly in the kitchen, Edgar was nearby. At the same time, Joseph considers it normal for Catherine to run out on the fields with Heathcliff after midnight and berates Nelly for running back to the house when the master returns home.

Catherine snaps back and tells Hindley she saw Edgar yesterday before she told him to leave, knowing Hindley would not appreciate having him in the house during his drunken state. Hindley accuses her of lying, but instead of talking about Edgar, he asks her if she was with Heathcliff last night and demands that she tell the truth. She shouldn’t be afraid of harming him, but since Hindley hates Heathcliff, he planned on sending him away this morning. Catherine denies being with Heathcliff and will go with him if Hindley makes him leave. But she tells Hindley he will not do it now as he is presumably gone and cries uncontrollably.

Hindley lashes out at her and orders her to go to her room. Nelly makes Catherine obey her brother, and when she sees Catherine in her room, she thinks she is going mad and begs Joseph to fetch the doctor. The doctor, Mr. Kenneth, examines her and diagnoses her with a serious fever. After bleeding her, Mr. Kenneth tells Nelly to feed Catherine only whey and gruel and ensure she doesn’t jump down the stairs or out of the window before he leaves.

Nelly tries to look after Catherine, while Joseph and Hindley hardly help her, but Catherine manages to battle her illness. Mrs. Linton visits the Heights several times to ensure everything is all right and reprimands Nelly and the inhabitants. As Catherine recovers, Mrs. Linton insists she let her stay at the Grange, and everyone is grateful for her help. But Mr. and Mrs. Linton contracted the fever, and both died within a few days.

Catherine returns home more passionate and stubborn than she was before. Nobody has heard of Heathcliff since the stormy night he disappeared, until one day, Catherine provokes Nelly to let her take the blame for Heathcliff’s disappearance. Catherine stops talking to her for several months, except for letting her wait on her. Joseph starts lecturing her, although she considers herself to be treated with respect. The doctor says she should behave as she is, and no one can stand up to her. She kept her distance from her brother and the household while Mr. Kenneth tutored her. When she shows signs of an angry outburst, Hindley allows her to throw her fits and doesn’t get mad at her.

Hindley wishes Catherine would bring honour to the family by befriending the Lintons. Three years later, Catherine and Edgar are married at the Gimmerton Chapel.

### Thrushcross Grange

After Catherine and Edgar’s wedding, Nelly is persuaded to move to the Grange with the newlyweds and accompany her there. Hareton, nearly five years old, was learning his letters from her. She refuses to leave him at first, and Catherine complains to Edgar and Hindley. Nelly is given some money, and Hindley tells her to pack up and leave, as he refuses to have any women in his house, and a curate would tutor Hareton. She kisses Hareton goodbye and leaves him with his father.

After arriving at the Grange, Catherine behaves better and is more fond of her husband. In addition, Isabella offers her affection, and she and her brother pay close attention to her. Edgar was afraid not to bother his wife, even if he kept this secretive from her. But whenever Nelly utters sharply or a servant turns silly by Catherine’s orders, he reprimands Nelly for being impudent, and she learns not to be upset by her master.

For six months, everything was fine. Once and a while, Catherine felt depressed, but she and Edgar had a happy marriage. But one September night, Nelly comes in from the garden with a basket of apples she gathered when she sits to rest, gazing at the moon with her back to the entrance. She then hears someone say her name in a deep, foreign voice that sounds familiar. She turns around to see who spoke and sees a tall man with dark hair and clothes. Nelly thought it was Mr. Earnshaw, but his voice didn’t sound like him.

The man says he has been waiting for an hour and insists he isn’t a stranger. The moonlight ray falls on his face, and Nelly recognizes Heathcliff and is surprised he has returned. Heathcliff looks up at the windows, asking if anyone is home and where Catherine is. He tells her to go and inform her mistress that someone from Gimmerton wants to see her. Nelly claims how Catherine would react if she saw him again, but he impatiently tells her to deliver his message to Catherine.

Nelly goes inside the parlour where Mr. and Mrs. Linton are. She isn’t sure if she should proceed but then makes an excuse to ask the couple to light the candles. They sit together comfortably, and Nelly leaves them at first, but a sense of her foolishness changes her mind. She mutters to Catherine that someone from Gimmerton wants to see her. Catherine tells her to close the curtains, bring some tea, and be back shortly.

Catherine leaves the room, Edgar asks who the man is, and Nelly reveals it is Heathcliff. He is shocked and asks why she didn’t inform Catherine it was him. Nelly reminds him that Catherine was already heartbroken when Heathcliff ran away and thought his return would make her thrilled. Edgar unfastens the window overlooking the courtyard and looks out. He calls his wife to bring the guest in. Catherine runs up shortly afterwards, breathless and excited. She embraces him tightly and tells him Heathcliff has returned. Edgar says there is no need to get too excited.

Catherine replies that Edgar may not like Heathcliff, but they should be friends now for her sake. She asks if she can invite Heathcliff inside, and Edgar, annoyed, asks if it has to be in the parlour and suggests he go into the kitchen instead. Catherine looks at him and laughs while angry at him. Afterwards, Catherine refuses to go into the kitchen and orders Nelly to arrange separate tables; one for Edgar and Isabella to sit at and the other for Catherine and Heathcliff.

Catherine gets up to go, but Edgar stops her. He tells Nelly to bring Heathcliff in and reminds his wife to be on her best behaviour when he comes in. Nelly leaves and finds Heathcliff under the porch, eagerly waiting to be invited in. Nelly guides him into the house and to the Lintons. Catherine runs toward Heathcliff upon seeing him, takes his hands and leads him to Edgar. With his appearance fully revealed in the candlelight, Nelly is amazed to see how much Heathcliff has changed; he has become a tall, strong and well-built man compared to her master, who is slim and still young. She assumes by his posture that he could have been in the army, and his appearance looks more intelligent, showing no signs of degradation. Despite his rough-looking appearance, Heathcliff has a graceful attitude.

Edgar is speechless for a minute on how to address Heathcliff, and his guest looks at him coolly until he asks him to sit down while Catherine will have him offer his friendly reception and would be gratified when anything happens that would please her. Heathcliff says he would stay for an hour or two. He sits opposite Catherine, and she keeps her gaze on him. Heathcliff glances at her as they are too absorbed in their joy to suffer embarrassment. Catherine then gets up, seizes Heathcliff’s hands and laughs, saying that tomorrow will be a dream as she cannot believe she has seen, spoken, and touched him again. She tells him he doesn’t deserve a welcome for being absent for three years and never thought of her.

Heathcliff says he has heard about Catherine’s marriage for a while, and when he was waiting in the courtyard, he devised a plan. He would see one glimpse of her; then, he would take revenge on Hindley and commit suicide. He declares that Catherine will not drive him off again and asks her if she does feel sorry for him. He had a difficult time since he last heard of her and hoped she would forgive him. Edgar interrupts by calling Catherine over to the table for tea while Heathcliff goes out and stays wherever he is. Isabella comes in by the summoning bell, and Nelly leaves the room as the household stays for dinner. The meal lasted only 10 minutes, as Catherine and Edgar could barely eat or drink.

Heathcliff prepares to leave, and Nelly asks him if he has been to Gimmerton. He replies that he is going to the Heights, as Mr. Earnshaw had invited him. Nelly is astonished that Hindley has invited Heathcliff to the Heights. She ponders what he said after he leaves, wondering if he turned into a hypocrite and returned to the country to cause mischief. She muses and has a feeling in her that he should stay away.

In the night, Nelly is awakened by Catherine running into her bedroom. She sits at her bedside and pulls at her hair to rouse her. Catherine apologizes that she cannot rest and wants someone to keep her company. She claims Edgar is sulky, as he only says silly, pettish things, and she gets up and leaves him alone. Nelly replies that Heathcliff is honoured to Edgar, as they both despise each other and that it is best to let Edgar leave Heathcliff alone unless Catherine encourages them to quarrel.

Catherine says that she doesn’t have a problem when she is with her sister-in-law Isabella. If they ever argue, Nelly supports Isabella until Catherine calms down and cheers her up, which satisfies Edgar when they get along. She remarks how spoiled Edgar and Isabella are, and while she appreciates spoiling them, she thinks they deserve punishment. Nelly reminds her of her being pampered by the Lintons, and she can understand it for as long as they can; unless she opposes them and those weaker, she would be as stubborn and headstrong as she is. Catherine laughs it off, insists that she won’t quarrel with Edgar, and still loves him tenderly. Nelly advises her to value her husband more, and Catherine says she will. But she hopes that Heathcliff has become a noble gentleman like Edgar, and she expects that both Heathcliff and Edgar could get along. She was sure that Heathcliff was on his best behaviour.

Nelly asks Catherine what she thinks of Heathcliff going to the Heights, and she replies that he explained how he went there to gather information. Hindley had invited Heathcliff inside and joined a group of men playing cards. Hindley begins to lose his money towards his rival, and delighted, Heathcliff asks if he will return tomorrow.

Hindley accepts his permission, unaware of the disastrous consequences that Heathcliff will have for him. But Heathcliff decides to rebuild his relationship with him and live at the Heights, as it is just a walking distance from the Grange, and Catherine would see him there frequently. In addition, he would also pay rent there. Despite her brother’s recklessness, Hindley is excited to have Heathcliff in his house.

Nelly appreciates the Heights for welcoming in lodgers, but she asks Catherine if she is worried about what will come. Catherine assures her that Heathcliff will be just fine from Hindley, and she will stand in his way. She believed that Heathcliff’s return today had her forgiven by God for the misery she had suffered and how she would be impacted by it. She decides to make up with Edgar and bids Nelly goodnight as she leaves.

The next day, Edgar allows Catherine and Isabella to visit the Heights, which they do for several days. In addition, Heathcliff starts visiting the Grange, which delights Catherine, but Edgar still feels unsettled when he is in his home. When Isabella falls in love with Heathcliff, Edgar is left horrified that he would blame it on Heathcliff once it finally comes to light. Over time, Nelly and the others soon noticed Isabella’s constant pining and her change of behaviour. She turns angrier and teases Catherine often, while everyone thinks it could be her falling ill. She refuses breakfast one day and complains that the servants and Catherine aren’t doing anything for her and that Edgar is neglecting her. She even states that she had caught a cold when the doors were left open, and they left the parlour fire to go out to provoke her, followed by more accusations.

Catherine insists she should go to bed and threatens to call the doctor. Isabella then reveals she is perfectly healthy, and Catherine’s harshness makes her miserable. Catherine scolds her and asks when she was ever harsh to her the last time. Isabella, while sobbing, says that yesterday on the moors, Catherine let her walk around freely while she strolled with Heathcliff. Catherine thinks their time out together isn’t necessary, and she doesn’t care if Isabella stays with them, even assuming that her conversation with Heathcliff is nothing special to Isabella.

Isabella cries that Catherine wants her to stay away from her and Heathcliff. Catherine asks Nelly if she is acting crazy, and she repeats the conversation with Isabella.

Isabella laments that she wants to be with Heathcliff and will not be kept apart from him and says that Catherine doesn’t let anyone be in love but herself. Catherine snaps at her and refuses to believe she is in love with him. Isabella exclaims that she loves Heathcliff more like Catherine loves Edgar. Catherine convinces Nelly to help her and tells Isabella that Heathcliff is not a good-looking man but vicious and heartless. She warns Heathcliff will likely ruin her since he won’t love a Linton and is probably more interested in her fortune and wealth.

Isabella gets angry at Catherine, and after Catherine leaves, Isabella cries that Catherine isn’t faithful and insists that Heathcliff is a kind, loving man. Nelly tells her she should forget about him as he is not the right man for her and that Catherine spoke strongly about him, as she knows him more than Nelly does. She wonders how Heathcliff became wealthy and why he stays in the Heights. She has even discovered that Hindley has gotten worse since Heathcliff started living there; they would stay up all night together, with Hindley constantly borrowing money from him and doing nothing but drink and gamble.

Nelly remembers last week when at Gimmerton, she met Joseph, who told her that Hindley almost got his finger cut off during a gambling session but doesn’t seem to care that he is putting himself at risk. On the other hand, Heathcliff enjoyed his time at the Heights, as he would be up throughout the night gambling and drinking until sunrise. After counting his money, Heathcliff would go to the Grange to gossip with Catherine. He had even told her he thrives with her father’s money while Hindley starts to go deeply into debt. Nelly asks Isabella if she should still be with Heathcliff after Joseph reveals the ugly truth about him.

Isabella thinks Nelly is like the others and refuses to listen to her. The next day, Edgar attends a meeting nearby, and Heathcliff arrives at the Grange early. Catherine and Isabella are in the library, still angry at each other but silent. Nelly is sweeping the hearth when she notices Isabella laughing and smiling as she sees Heathcliff walk past their window and stays until the door opens.

Catherine exclaims for Heathcliff to come in as she reveals that Isabella is in love with him and seizes Isabella as she gets up in embarrassment. She explains how they are fighting with each other over him, but if she puts aside her wild manners, Isabella could have Heathcliff. Isabella begs Catherine not to humiliate her and asks Heathcliff to let Catherine release her, and she would forget they were so infatuated with each other. Heathcliff says nothing and takes a seat. Isabella whispers to Catherine to let her go, but she refuses and demands Heathcliff what he thinks about the news, that Isabella loves him more than Edgar and how she refused to eat since their walk together.

Isabella scratches Catherine to free herself, and Catherine berates her for scratching her in front of Heathcliff and warns him of her viciousness. After Isabella rushes out of the room, Heathcliff asks Catherine why she was teasing her and if what she had said was true. Catherine says that Isabella has been pining after him for weeks this morning. After learning about her crush, she started misbehaving and chose to punish her for her inappropriate behaviour. Heathcliff says he does appreciate her, except for her wealthy lifestyle and blue eyes that resemble Edgar’s. He asks if Isabella is her brother’s heir, and Catherine replies that several of her nephews could erase her title. She asks Heathcliff not to take any interest in possessing the Grange’s property.

Heathcliff wants to dismiss the conversation, and Nelly sees him smile to himself as he muses about Catherine. She decides to watch him closely, hoping that something might happen involving both houses being freed from Heathcliff. She starts to fear his frequent visits; even Edgar is fearful of his presence.

While thinking over these thoughts, Nelly suddenly felt dread and would go to the Heights to see if all was well. She felt like going inside the house and warning Heathcliff about what other people think of his choices, but remembering his bad habits, she stops herself from going inside.

On a bright, frosty afternoon, Nelly prepares to walk to Gimmerton. She stopped at a sand-pillar stone on the highway leading to the moors on the left. The letters “W.H.” are carved on the northern top, followed by “G” on the eastern side and “T.G” on the southwest. They are used as a signpost: “W.H” leads to Wuthering Heights, “T.G” to Thrushcross Grange, and “G” to Gimmerton. She remembers that the pillar was where she and Hindley used it as a favourite hiding spot 20 years ago. She stoops down and sees a hole filled with snail shells and pebbles, where she and Hindley once hid some of their collections.

She imagines Hindley as a child playing with dirt and a slate, and he looks up and stares into her eyes. She then has the sudden urge to go to the Heights, believing the vision is a sign that he may die. The more she approached the house, the more agitated she became. She then spots a little boy at the house resembling Hindley in her vision and realizes it is Hareton, whom she hasn’t seen in 10 months.

She is emotionally thrilled to see him again while he picks up a rock. She tells him she has come to see his father, and judging by his action, she guesses that he might not remember her. Despite her soothing words, Hareton throws the rock at her, hitting her bonnet. He swears at her, which upsets Nelly, and she tries to calm him by giving him an orange. He snatches it from her hands, and she shows him another while keeping it out of his reach. She asks who taught him this rude behaviour and if it was the curate. Hareton curses the curate and replies, "Devil Daddy.” He reaches for the fruit, and Nelly raises it, asking what his father is teaching him. Hareton says his father isn’t doing anything to him.

She asks him if the devil is teaching him to be bad, and Hareton replies no. When she inquires who it is, he says it is Heathcliff, who pays his father what he gives to the boy, and he curses his father for swearing back at him. He thinks he should do the same thing, too. Nelly questions him if the curate is even teaching him how to read or write, and Hareton reveals that he was told that Heathcliff had dismissed his curate and threatened him if he returned.

Nelly puts the fruit in Hareton’s hands and asks him to tell his father she wants to see him by the garden gate. He goes up the walk and inside the house, but instead of Hindley, Heathcliff appears. Nelly runs away in fear until she reaches the guidepost. While this had nothing to do with Isabella’s relationship, Nelly would still watch Heathcliff at the Grange. The next time Heathcliff came over, Isabella was feeding pigeons in the courtyard and hadn’t spoken to Isabella in 3 days, but she had stopped complaining, which was a relief to Nelly and the others. However, Heathcliff doesn’t seem to show respect as Nelly did for Isabella, and when he first sees her, he initially plans to inspect the house facade. She is standing by the kitchen window when, without being seen, she spots Heathcliff approaching Isabella and saying something. She feels embarrassed and tries to get away, but Heathcliff places his hand on her arm. Isabella turns away, and Nelly thinks Heathcliff may have asked her something she couldn’t answer. When he sees that he is alone, Heathcliff then embraces Isabella.

Nelly is shocked and calls Heathcliff a hypocrite and a traitor, but she doesn’t notice Catherine come in. Nelly tells her about Heathcliff and Isabella and sees that he has spotted them and is coming inside. She wonders what excuse he’ll have for his affection for Isabella despite him telling Catherine he doesn’t love her sister-in-law. Isabella breaks herself free from Heathcliff and runs into the garden. A minute later, Heathcliff enters the house. Nelly is resentful, but Catherine furiously insists she stays quiet, even threatening to throw her out of the kitchen if she dares to speak up.

Catherine confronts Heathcliff upon his arrival and demands that he leaves Isabella alone unless he is tired of coming to the Grange and wanting Edgar to turn against him. Heathcliff wishes God would make Edgar more patient and forbid him from violence. Catherine asks him if Isabella has met him on purpose. He replies that he has every right to be affectionate towards Isabella if she wishes, and Catherine has no right to object to it and not be jealous. She says he can marry Isabella but demands he tells her the truth if he does love her.

Nelly wonders if Edgar would approve of Isabella marrying Heathcliff, and Catherine insists he will. Heathcliff argues that he’ll have Isabella to himself without Edgar’s approval. Then he tells Catherine that she should be aware that he knows she mistreated him and thinks she is a fool for praising herself and wanting to console him. He declares he will have revenge but thanks Catherine for revealing her sister-in-law’s secret. Catherine asks him how she has been mistreated and how he’ll commit his revenge. Heathcliff claims he has no revenge plan on her, but she is welcome to torment him for her amusement constantly. Catherine says he can fight with Edgar and hate his sister if he wants to, as it could be an easy way to plot revenge on her. Afterwards, she sits by the fire, upset with Heathcliff standing on the hearth.

Nelly finds Edgar, who wonders what was taking Catherine so long. Nelly tells him she is in the kitchen, miserable from her argument with Heathcliff. She decides it is about time to make some changes to Heathcliff’s visits and describes what she has seen in the courtyard, hoping that this won’t affect Catherine unless she still defends him. Edgar is outraged that his wife is still friends with Heathcliff, making him welcome in their home. He orders her to summon two of his servants as he will no longer allow Catherine to keep arguing with his unwelcome guest. Edgar then goes to the kitchen with Nelly following him and bidding his servants to wait in the passage.

In the kitchen, Catherine is still arguing with Heathcliff. He sees Edgar first and motions her to be silent. Edgar confronts his wife about her argument with Heathcliff and thinks she will get him used to his corruption. Catherine asks him if he has been listening to them behind the door, which makes Heathcliff laugh and turn the master’s attention to him. Edgar tells Heathcliff that he refrained from him, not that he knows that he was degraded but that he was partially responsible for it. He reminds Heathcliff that his presence in his home is a bad influence. He does not want him in his house anymore and demands that he leave.

Heathcliff tells Catherine that Edgar looks too weak to fight him and is not worth quarrelling with. Glancing at the passage, Edgar signals Nelly to fetch the servants to help him throw Heathcliff out. Nelly obeys him, but before she can call them, Catherine shuts the kitchen door and locks it. She provokes Edgar to either apologize to Heathcliff or fight back. She’ll get rid of the key before he can get it and hopes Heathcliff will beat him senselessly. Edgar tries to wrestle the key away from her, but she throws it into the fireplace. Edgar trembles as he faces Heathcliff alone and leans back against a chair as he covers his face. Catherine exclaims that they are defeated and again encourages him to fight. Heathcliff compliments her attitude and says he would only kick Edgar to satisfy him.

Edgar manages to punch him in the neck. While Heathcliff coughs and chokes, Edgar escapes from the back door into the yard and back to the front entrance. Catherine then begs Heathcliff to leave as Edgar will soon return fully armed and with a group of servants. He probably won’t forgive them anyway if he hears their conversation and demands Heathcliff to go again.

Heathcliff refuses and says that he will crush his ribs himself. He may kill him some other time but demands he confronts Edgar face to face. Nelly says that her master isn’t coming, but the coachman and two gardeners are people Heathcliff shouldn’t deal with. Not wanting to stand off against Edgar’s many servants, Heathcliff breaks the kitchen door lock with a fire-poker and flees before Edgar and his servants return.

Catherine gets excited as Nelly accompanies her upstairs. Catherine asks her to keep her isolated from Isabella, and she wants her to tell Edgar that she is very sick; she also wants to fake her illness to scare him. She then laments about revealing Isabella’s feelings to Heathcliff and how Edgar would not have acted so hostile had he not heard their conversation. She didn’t care what the men did to each other, but after their fight, she and her suitors would be torn apart. If she cannot keep Heathcliff and Edgar to herself, she will break their hearts by breaking her own. She knows her husband has been careful not to bother her and wants Nelly to tell Edgar about her frenzy behaviour.

Nelly is slightly irritated by her request, but she would rather not talk about this to her master as it would make him more infuriated. She says nothing when Edgar arrives in the parlour but would listen to their conversation again if they were going to fight again. Edgar says to Catherine he has not come to argue with her or be apologized. He is about to ask her about her relationships when she interrupts him by saying she doesn’t want to discuss them. He demands that she give up either him or Heathcliff, as it is impossible for her to be in love with two men at once.

Catherine exclaims that she wants to be left alone and furiously rings the servant's bell until it breaks. Nelly rushes in to see Catherine pounding her head against the arm of the sofa. Edgar watches her fearfully and tells her to bring her some water, as Catherine cannot speak. Nelly brings a glassful of water, and when Catherine refuses to drink, Nelly pours some onto her face. Catherine then stands up, and her pale face frightens Edgar. Nelly assures him nothing is wrong, although she, too, is afraid of her pale appearance. Edgar notices the blood on his wife’s lips, and Nelly tells her master everything about Catherine’s frenzy behaviour. As she hears Nelly, Catherine gets up and runs from the room. Edgar and Nelly follow her to her bedroom, only to discover she has locked herself inside.

Catherine doesn't show up for breakfast the next morning, so Nelly goes to her room and asks if she would like her food to be brought to her. Catherine abruptly refuses and doesn’t come to tea or dinner the next day. Edgar spends much of his time in the library and shows no concern for his wife’s well-being. He also has an hour-long talk with his sister Isabella where he tries to make her stop seeing Heathcliff; he even warns her that if she continues her relationship with Heathcliff, he will disown her.

### Catherine’s Illness

While Isabella mopes miserably around the Grange property and Edgar shuts himself up in his study, Nelly suggests that he hopes that Catherine would want an apology as he becomes more concerned about her absence.  She continues her household chores while Catherine continues to starve herself.

Finally, on the third day, Catherine unlocks her door and allows the servants to bring her some water and gruel. She requests more food as she believes she’s dying, but Nelly doesn’t believe her and prefers to keep it to herself from Edgar as she brings her some tea and toast. Catherine groans and laments that she will die and nobody cares about her but murmurs that she won’t die as she thinks Edgar doesn’t love her and won’t miss her. Nelly asks her if she wants anything, and Catherine wants to know if Edgar is fatigued or dead. Nelly replies that he is fine but is always inside his study. Catherine is outraged that he is busy with his books while she is on the verge of death and if he knows about her condition. She stares at her reflection in the mirror and imagines herself being Edgar’s pet. She also says that once she finds out how Edgar feels, she will continue to starve or recover and leave him.

Nelly says Edgar isn’t aware of her condition and doesn’t seem worried that she is starving. Catherine begs Nelly to remind him of her failing health, while Nelly suggests she should eat some more to recover by tomorrow. Catherine interrupts and laments that she cannot sleep for three days and is being tormented. While everyone fought, those who loved her became enemies within a few hours. For example, Isabella was too afraid to go into her room, and Edgar would observe the conflict before saying his prayers and being back in his study to avoid her death.

Catherine rips the pillow with her teeth and demands the window be opened. Nelly refuses as it is still winter with strong winds. Catherine then pulls out the feathers from the pillow, murmuring about the feathers from different birds. She recalls how she and Heathcliff found a lapwing on the moors trying to get to its nest. While the bird wasn’t shot, they picked up its feather, and then he found its nest in the winter. Heathcliff then sets a trap over it, and Catherine made him promise not to shoot any more lapwings and asks Nelly if he shot them. Nelly orders her to stop as she takes the pillow away, and Catherine rips the mattress. Nelly tells her to lie down and close her eyes. Catherine says she imagines Nelly as an old woman, the bed is like the fairy cave at the Penistone Crags, and Nelly is gathering stones to harm it while pretending they are just wool. Catherine believes that Nelly will be 50 years from now while at the Penistone Crags. Nelly tells her she is talking in her sleep, but Catherine claims she sees a face.

Nelly says nothing is in the room, and Catherine asks if she has seen the face as she gazes into the mirror. Nelly covers the mirror with a shawl, and Catherine says she still sees the face behind it and is worried the room is haunted. Nelly insists that no one is with them. She is about to leave the room to call for Edgar but stops when Catherine screams and pulls the shawl from the mirror.

Nelly tries to comfort her as she assures her it is just their reflection in the mirror. Catherine wonders if she is in her room at Wuthering Heights and that she is weak and confused. She begs her to stay with her as she refuses to rest. Nelly assures her that a restful sleep will prevent her from starving herself again. Catherine laments how she misses being in her bed at the Heights and comforted by the wind blowing from the moors while she begs to feel the air again. Nelly opens the window slightly to calm her for a few seconds. A cold blast blows into the room before she closes it as Catherine lies down deliriously.

Catherine asks how long she has confined herself, and Nelly replies that she has locked herself up since Monday evening. She thinks it is either Thursday evening or Friday morning. Catherine is surprised at how long she kept herself hidden, and Nelly claims it was long enough for her to be miserable. Catherine mutters how it feels like it is only a few hours. She then recalls how she was in the parlour after the men’s quarrel and teasing Edgar before running to the room she was in. She became overwhelmed when she locked the door and couldn’t explain her fits and insanity to Edgar.

Catherine claims that during one of her fits, she imagines herself back at home but cannot remember anything and ponders what it was from the past seven years. Back then, she was still young when her father died, and Hindley brought misery to her and Heathcliff. While alone in her room one night, Catherine opened the window, and her memory was quickly refreshed as she realized that she had been married to a stranger and isolated from her world. She tells Nelly she should have told Edgar to have left her alone and wishes she was a lively, young girl again outside the moors.

Catherine begs Nelly to open the window quickly. Nelly replies she won’t as she wouldn’t have her freeze to death, but Catherine decides she will do it herself. Before Nelly can restrain her, she rushes to the window to open it and leans out into the cold air. Nelly tries to get her away from the window, but when she looks out, she sees it is a very dark night with no moon and no lights visible, even from the Heights. She exclaims that she sees her candle in her room and another in Joseph’s garret, thinking he is staying up late for her to return so he can lock the gate. She imagines it will be a rough journey as they will pass the Gimmerton churchyard where she and Heathcliff had stood among the graves numerous times, daring each other to summon the spirits from their resting places. She declares to Heathcliff that if she dies and is buried in the kirkyard, she will never rest until he joins her. She pauses for a moment and then says that Heathcliff is waiting for her to come to him.

Nelly, not wanting to argue with her while being deranged, figures out how she could find something to wrap around her instead of holding her to pull her away. Edgar then arrives when he hears their commotion at the late hour. Nelly informs him that Catherine has fallen ill, and she cannot restrain her. She asks him to persuade Catherine to go to bed and urges him to get over his anger. Edgar orders Nelly to shut the window but is speechless by his wife’s haggard, pale appearance. Nelly explains that Catherine wastes time inside the room without eating or complaining. She has refused assistance until now, and Nelly and the servants couldn’t inform him about her condition as they were unaware of it. Edgar chastises her for not letting him know about Catherine as she grabs hold of her.

For a while, Catherine doesn’t recognize him. But once her vision is adjusted from the darkness outside the window, she sees that he has finally come for her; but predicts that she will be dead by spring and would instead be buried in the ground than in the Linton crypt. Edgar asks her if he is still worthy of her and if she loves Heathcliff. Catherine interrupts him and will jump out the window if he mentions Heathcliff again. She doesn’t want to be with Edgar anymore and demands that he leaves her alone.

Nelly explains to Edgar that Catherine is talking nonsense all night but hopes that if she is left alone and carefully attended to, she will calm down. She also assures him to be careful about how they treat her. Edgar doesn’t want her advice as Nelly was responsible for knowing her condition and that she encouraged him to harass her. He also doesn’t like any information on how she has been during the past three days.

Nelly defends herself by saying that she may have known about Catherine’s headstrong personality but didn’t know he could intimate her until she lost her temper, and she should have ignored Heathcliff. She thinks she did the right thing by informing her master and being paid for it, even claiming that it has taught her to be more careful and that he will know better. Edgar reminds her that he will fire her if she brings up Catherine’s behaviour to him again. Nelly asks him if he doesn’t want to hear about it since he had given Heathcliff permission to visit Catherine at the Grange but would stop for fear that his wife will turn against him.

Catherine hears the conversation, condemns Nelly for betraying her, and demands to be let go so she can deal with herself. She then struggles wildly from Edgar’s arms.

Nelly quickly leaves to call for a doctor. Outside, she spots something moving from the bridle hook on the wall as she passes through the garden. She rushes over to investigate and sees it is Isabella’s dog, Fanny, hanging by a handkerchief and close to death. Nelly saves the dog’s life by unwrapping the knot and placing it on the ground. She had seen the dog follow Isabella upstairs when she went to bed and wondered how it got out here and who had nearly left it to die. While untying the knot, she thought she heard horses galloping in the distance but wasn’t concerned about it, even though it was a strange sound to listen to at 2 o’clock in the morning. Mr. Kenneth is on his way to see a patient in Gimmerton when Nelly comes up the street; after informing him about Catherine’s condition, he immediately accompanies her back to the Grange.

Mr. Kenneth is curious about Nelly’s report and asks her what is happening at the Grange. He also blames her for Catherine’s illness, as he finds it stressful to treat patients suffering from a fever; he asks her how it happened. Nelly says that Edgar will explain everything to him, although he knows about the Earnshaws’ wild and violent behaviours, with Catherine being the worst. She brings up how it started with a conflict, with Catherine having a passionate fit before locking herself up. She then refused to eat and acted deliriously while having strange illusions.

Mr. Kenneth wonders if Edgar is distressed, and Nelly reminds him not to alert him more about the incident. Mr. Kenneth says he informed Edgar to be more aware of his wife and warned him of the consequences if he ignored his message. He also asks if he has been in contact with Heathcliff recently. Nelly explains that Heathcliff visits the Grange frequently, mainly to see Catherine. He has now been forbidden from the Grange following his affectionate relationship with Isabella. She thinks that he may not come back anytime soon. Mr. Kenneth next questions if Isabella has stopped seeing Heathcliff, and Nelly replies she doesn’t trust her, as she doesn’t want to discuss the subject. The doctor remarks that Isabella is a foolish and cunning woman, as he learns that last night, she and Heathcliff are walking at the Grange’s plantation, where he convinces her to mount his horse and ride away with him. He also learned that they had a secret meeting plotting their plans before running away, while Nelly should have urged Edgar to be more alert.

Fearful of the doctor's news, Nelly runs back to the Grange. The dog is barking in the garden as she opens the gate, but instead of running back to the front door, the dog sniffs around the ground, and Nelly stops it from escaping to the road and brings it into the house. But when she goes to Isabella’s room, she sees it is empty. She knew this wouldn’t have happened if Isabella had been aware of Catherine’s illness.

She wonders what she should do now. She thought she could find Heathcliff and Isabella but knew she couldn't pursue them. She also dared not to alert the household, leaving everyone confused and Edgar even more grieved. She decides to keep quiet and let the situation be revealed itself. After Mr. Kenneth arrives, Nelly talks about Catherine’s condition; she has finally fallen asleep but still has problems. Edgar has managed to comfort and watch over her.

After examining her, Mr. Kenneth assures Edgar that Catherine will recover from her illness. But Nelly knows that Catherine is becoming mentally unstable.

That night, Nelly and Edgar didn’t sleep. The next morning, everyone is up but Isabella; the servants even note how quiet she was when asleep. Edgar is worried about Isabella and not showing any concern about his wife’s condition. Nelly gets paranoid that he might ask her to summon Isabella but is quickly spared from the situation. Mary, one of the Grange servants, was out on an early errand to Gimmerton when she bursts breathlessly into Edgar and Nelly's room. She reveals to Edgar and Nelly that Isabella has eloped with Heathcliff. Edgar denies that this is true and orders Nelly to find Isabella.

Edgar then questions Mary on how she found out about the unexpected news. The servant explains that she met a boy on the road who fetches the milk from the house and asked her if there was any trouble at the Grange. Mary assumed it was Catherine’s illness, but the boy revealed that a man and woman were spotted at a blacksmith’s shop outside Gimmerton getting a horseshoe fixed just after midnight. The blacksmith's daughter recognized the couple immediately as Heathcliff was seen paying her father. The woman had her face covered in a hood, but when her hood fell back, she recognized her as Isabella. Heathcliff and Isabella then rode away from the village, and while the girl did not tell her father about this, she reported it to everyone in Gimmerton that morning.

After checking Isabella’s room, Nelly confirms that Isabella did run off with Heathcliff to Edgar. She asks him if they should search for Isabella and bring her home. However, Edgar says he will let Isabella go if she wants to and doesn’t want to talk about her again. He now only knows his sister by her name, and instead of disowning her, she has disowned him. He doesn’t ask any more questions or bring her up afterwards, except to instruct Nelly to send all Isabella’s belongings to her new home, wherever it is.

### Isabella’s Letter

Heathcliff and Isabella have been absent for two months, and Catherine fell ill with brain fever. Edgar constantly tends to her day and night and endures her irritations from her illness. Despite Mr. Kenneth warning Edgar that he may be sacrificing his own life to save Catherine, she is at least out of danger, and her health somewhat improves.

At the beginning of March, Catherine is able to leave her room, and Edgar leaves some golden crocuses on her pillow for her. She asks her husband if winter is almost over, and Edgar says that spring has arrived, and he hopes the spring air will cure her illness. Catherine still thinks he is going to leave her, and he tries to comfort her. The household knows that Catherine is recovering and believe that her depression is from her being confined in her room too often.

Edgar asks Nelly to light a fire in the parlour that had been empty for many weeks and set a chair by the window. Catherine is brought to the parlour and sits on the chair by the window. She seems to be comforted by the sunshine from the window, and the objects in the room make her feel revived from her bedroom she was kept in for so long. By evening, Catherine is exhausted, and the servants know they can't persuade her to return to her bedroom. Nelly arranges the parlour sofa as a temporary bed until they can prepare another room for Catherine. To avoid the stress and fatigue of going up the stairs, the servants arrange a room on the same floor as the parlour, and Catherine is strong enough to move from the parlour to her new room with Edgar's assistance.

Nelly hopes that Catherine will fully recover from her illness, but she never does. Also, she is pregnant with the couple’s first child, with Edgar hoping the child will be male and become his heir.

Six weeks after Isabella eloped with Heathcliff, she sends a brief letter to Edgar, explaining that she is married to Heathcliff and asks for forgiveness; she even states that she initially couldn't help it, but now it is too late for her to resolve her situation. Edgar doesn’t respond to Isabella's letter. 2 more weeks later, Nelly receives a letter from Isabella, which is longer than the one she sent to Edgar. Nelly finds it odd that Isabella wrote to her right after marriage but decides to read it anyway.

In the letter, Isabella writes that she had just returned to the Heights last night and found out about Catherine's illness. She decides not to write to her, and Edgar may still be too angry or upset to write back to her. She still needed someone to write to, and Nelly was her only option. She asks Nelly to inform Edgar how she longs to see him again, and she already misses the Grange. Even if they were not expecting her, she reminds Nelly to be careful not to report her situation back at the Grange.

Isabella then asks Nelly 2 questions. The first is how she managed to have a compassionate, sympathetic nature in a place like the Heights. Secondly, she wonders if Heathcliff is a man or a devil. She wants an explanation about her new husband and begs Nelly to tell her more when she comes to see her at the Heights; she also begs her not to write back and to come over as soon as possible with something from Edgar.

Isabella decides to talk about her life at the Heights and how it is much different from her lifestyle back at the Grange.

It was sunset and around 6 o'clock when she and Heathcliff arrived at the Heights, and Joseph greeted them and took their horses. While Heathcliff talked to Joseph, Isabella entered the kitchen and spotted Hareton. She tried to greet him, but he responded rudely to her. She tried to wait for Heathcliff, and Joseph refused to help her. She went to the back door, and Hindley answered the door and ordered her to come inside.

Isabella tells Nelly that in her helpless state, her real home was just 4 miles away and laments that the ocean had kept them apart and she could not cross over. She wonders whom she could turn to for help, and while asking Nelly not to tell Edgar and Catherine, she is filled with despair about whom she would find to protect her from Heathcliff.

Hindley warned her to lock her door at night and showed her a pistol with a knife attached to the barrel that he'll use to kill Heathcliff. She tried to hold the pistol, but he snatched it back. Nelly had once told Isabella about Hindley's habits and that he was clearly on the verge of insanity. Isabella escaped into the kitchen, where Joseph was making porridge, and she decided to make dinner herself. However, she cooked the porridge poorly and wanted to have a bedroom. Joseph showed her an empty room, and she fell asleep there. Heathcliff woke her up and told her they wouldn't share a bedroom together.

Isabella started to fear Heathcliff, and when he informed her of Catherine’s illness, he decided to blame her for it instead of Edgar. She now hated her husband, and she had made a foolish decision. She concludes her letter by warning Nelly again not to tell anyone at the Grange about this and pleads for her to come to the Heights as soon as possible.

### Catherine’s Death/Heathcliff’s Insanity

Right after reading Isabella’s letter, Nelly informs Edgar that his sister is at the Heights, and she wrote a letter of her grief over Catherine’s illness and wanting to see her brother again. She also requests a token of forgiveness from Edgar to be brought to her.

Edgar refuses to forgive Isabella; however, he asks Nelly to tell her at the Heights that he is not angry but is sorry for losing her. He thinks she will never be happy and does not want to see her again; he even decides that if Isabella wants to reconcile with him, she should persuade Heathcliff to leave the country. Nelly asks him if he would at least write a little note, and he refuses.

Edgar’s cold response saddens Nelly, and on her way to the Heights, she wonders how exactly she would tell Isabella of his answer in a more consoling way. She can see Isabella looking out from her window as she arrives at the house and quickly disappears from fear of being watched. Nelly enters without knocking and sees that the house has been in disarray since she left; she wishes she was in Isabella’s place to clean the house. When she does see Isabella, her lovely face has turned pale. Her hair is uncurled, with some curls hanging loosely. She hasn’t even changed her dress from the previous night.

Hindley is absent, and Heathcliff sits at a table reading from a pocketbook. He gets up when he sees Nelly and invites her to sit down. She notices that Heathcliff has met Isabella as a wealthy, polished gentleman, and she ends up an untidy, neglected woman. Isabella appears to greet Nelly and holds her hand for the letter she expects to receive. Nelly shakes her head, but Isabella doesn’t understand her. The women go to a sideboard where Nelly takes off her bonnet, and Isabella begs in a whisper to give her what she has brought for her.

Heathcliff notices their conversation and tells Nelly that if she has something for Isabella, she can give it to her as she won’t keep it a secret. Nelly replies that it is nothing but decides to tell the truth. She says that Edgar had told her to remind Isabella he won’t write to or visit her now, but he sends his token of love and wishes of happiness to Isabella. However, he also plans to cut off contacts around this time with Wuthering Heights. Isabella sits by the window disappointed, while Heathcliff asks Nelly about Catherine. Nelly blames her mistress for bringing this all onto herself and hopes that Heathcliff will avoid contact with the Lintons after this conversation.

Nelly explains that Catherine is recovering from her illness, although she will likely never be her old self again. He should forget about her entirely and leave the country if he still cares about her. Mrs. Linton is a much different woman than the original Catherine Heathcliff used to remember her by, as her appearance and personality had changed completely, and her former companion had to control his feelings from the memories of whom his lover used to be. While forcing himself to be calm, Heathcliff admits that Edgar should still sustain his civility and duties but denies leaving Catherine alone with her husband and Nelly comparing his feelings to Catherine.

Before Nelly leaves, Heathcliff urges her to arrange for him to visit the Grange, as he desperately needs to see Catherine. Nelly refuses, as another conflict between Heathcliff and Edgar would only make things worse for Catherine. Heathcliff says he would go to extremes if Edgar were responsible for Catherine's misery, but while he still hates him, he would have never raised a hand against him. He would not have removed him from her society if she needed him, and should she stop caring about him, he would have "*torn his heart out and drank his blood*." Nelly interrupts him by saying he has no hesitation about having Catherine back into his life by abruptly seeing her when she has nearly forgotten all about him.

Heathcliff denies that Catherine has forgotten about him, as he knows she thinks more about him when she is with Edgar. Thoughts about her had haunted him since he returned last summer, and that "death" and "Hell" would affect his future. If he could not have his companion again, he would be in hell, and he had been a fool into thinking Catherine valued Edgar more than him.

Isabella argues that Catherine and Edgar had always been fond of each other, and she will not have anyone talk about her brother in that manner. Heathcliff turns to her and asks her if Edgar was fond of her when he had just turned her away. She replies that Edgar is unaware of her misery as she hasn't told him. Isabella says that she did write a note about it as Heathcliff had seen it and nothing ever since.

Nelly remarks that Isabella took a turn for the worse in her condition. Heathcliff insults Isabella by saying she wanted to go home shortly after they were married but thinks she would be the ideal housewife at the Heights and that he'll ensure she doesn't leave him. Nelly says that Isabella has always been a pampered woman who was waited on and that she should have a maid, and Heathcliff should treat her kindly. She also admits that no matter how much Heathcliff despises Edgar, Isabella is used to her lifestyle and wouldn't have to abandon her old life and be used to the new one she knows nothing about.

Heathcliff argues that Isabella gave up her nobility and became infatuated with him. However, he admits he never loved her and had succeeded in making her stop being in love with him. It was her fault that she had fallen in love with him; he admits that she pleaded to spare her dog's life when he hanged her dog as they left the Grange. Instead of being shocked by his abuse, she admired his brutality.

Heathcliff asks Nelly to tell her master that he has never met such a miserable person as his wife Isabella, who even disgraces her maiden name. No matter how much she experiences Heathcliff's cruelty, she will always stick by him. He also wants Nelly to inform Edgar that he wouldn't give her the right to separate from him, but if she does want to leave it, it is her decision.

Nelly and Isabella think he is insane. Because of that, she stays with him, but if Heathcliff says she can leave him, she will doubtfully accept the permission. She then asks her if she still wants to be with him. Isabella replies that Nelly shouldn't believe anything he says, as he is a liar. She reveals that she has tried to leave him once but didn't dare to attempt it again. She makes Nelly promises not to tell Edgar or Catherine about his conversation and claims Heathcliff only married her so he can easily overpower her brother.

Heathcliff cuts off the conversation. He tells Nelly that if she is even called upon in a court of law, she'll remember Isabella's language and judging by his wife's appearance, she will be more loyal to him. He also informs Isabella that she cannot be her guardian. As her legal protector, she must remain in his custody no matter how toxic their relationship would soon become. He then orders Isabella to go upstairs as he needs to talk to Nelly privately and throws her out of the room.

Nelly asks him if he knows what the word "pity" means and if it ever impacted his life as she prepares to leave. Heathcliff forbids her from going and demands that she help him visit Catherine without delay, and he is not willing to cause any disturbance or harm to Edgar. All he wants is to see how she is doing and why she is sick; he will also ask her if there is anything he can do to help her. He was in the Grange’s garden for 6 hours last night and is determined to return there tonight; he declares he will keep showing up to the Grange until he can enter the premises. If he encounters Edgar, he won't fight and leave him alone; if the servants confront him, he'll threaten them with his pistols. He wonders if he can go into the Grange without attracting the attention of Edgar and the servants, and Nelly can do it easily. He will remind her when he arrives, and she will let him inside unnoticed when she is alone and then wait until he leaves.

Nelly protests taking part in his plan and ruining Catherine's tranquillity. She says Catherine is too fragile to handle his surprise visit and begs him not to carry on, or she will inform Edgar of his plans and have his home secured from intruders. Heathcliff then threatens to hold her hostage until tomorrow morning, as he finds it foolish that Catherine isn’t able to endure his visit. He demands Nelly to prepare her mistress for him and thinks she is a spy for Edgar when his name is never mentioned at the Grange.

Heathcliff believes that Catherine is not in tranquillity when Nelly claims she is restless and condemns Edgar for his treatment of her. He forces her to choose if she should be locked up as his prisoner or help him see Catherine. Nelly tries arguing and complaining until she gives in. She would give a letter from Heathcliff to Catherine, and if she accepts his permission, she will have Heathcliff come over when Edgar is absent. She and the servants are to stay out of Heathcliff’s way during his visit. She thinks this plan is wrong but convenient. She wonders if this would prevent their plan from backfiring or worsening Catherine’s mental health. She remembers how Edgar reprimanded her for gossiping but assures him that it will be the last if it happens again. She then returns to the Grange.

That evening, Nelly doesn’t leave the Grange despite keeping Heathcliff’s letter in her pocket as she doesn’t want to be threatened by him again. She decides not to give the letter to her mistress until her master is absent from the Grange as she doesn’t guess how Catherine would react when given to her.

Four days later, Edgar leaves for church, and she prepares to deliver the letter to Catherine, with a manservant staying behind to help Nelly guard the house. Normally the doors are locked during church hours, but since it is a warm spring day, she leaves them open. Knowing that Heathcliff will be coming today, she tells the manservant that Catherine requests some oranges, and he will need to go to Gimmerton to buy some, and he will be paid tomorrow.

Catherine is seated by the open window. She is wearing a loose, white dress with a shawl and her long hair braided. Despite her sickly appearance, Nelly has told Heathcliff that her face changes into a peaceful state when she is calm. A book lay on the sill before her, as Nelly believes Edgar left it there for her, but she never seemed interested in reading and only focused on what was special to her. The Gimmerton church bells ring outside, usually during spring. At Wuthering Heights, the bells are heard on quiet days during any season, and Nelly remembers how Catherine would listen to the bells but react with no recognition.

Nelly informs Catherine that she has a letter for her as she places it gently into her hand. She tells her to read it immediately as she needs to respond. Nelly opens it, and it’s a short letter and tells her to read it. The letter falls from Catherine’s hand, and Nelly puts it back on her lap, waiting for her to glance down and notice it. When Catherine doesn’t move, Nelly asks if she wants to read Heathcliff's letter.

Catherine ends up reading the letter and weakly holding it while reading it. Afterwards, she feebly asks Nelly about Heathcliff and replies that he is impatiently in the garden to meet her. While she speaks, Nelly looks out and sees a large dog relaxing outside and then is quickly alerted as she sees someone approaching. Catherine listens closely; the next minute, Heathcliff enters and appears at her door. Nelly is motioned to let him in, and Heathcliff holds Catherine in his arms.

The couple kisses each other for a few minutes, and Heathcliff sees she is close to death. He finally laments about his life, and Catherine says he and Edgar had broken her heart. She claims they both brought her sadness and would not pity Heathcliff as he had killed her and laments how long he would live after she dies.

Heathcliff embraces her as he gets up, but she grabs him to keep him close. She wishes she could hold him until they are both dead, and she doesn’t care about his suffering. She asks Heathcliff if he will forget her and be happy after her death, and Heathcliff begs her not to torture him. He condemns her for talking that way, and whatever words she’s saying will be stuck in his mind forever. He tells her that she is lying, that he killed her, and that he would very well forget about her, as he finds it insufficient for her to be in peace while he rots in hell.

Catherine moans that she will never be at peace and doesn’t wish to torment him; she only wishes they would never part again and asks for forgiveness as she begs him to come closer. He abruptly walks over to the fireplace and stands silently with his back to the women. Catherine glances at him suspiciously and then tells Nelly he doesn’t seem to change his mind to save her from death. She states he is not the man she initially loved. She condemns Nelly for being strong and healthy and for being sorry for her and beckons Heathcliff to come back to her.

Catherine gets up while supporting herself from the arm of the chair. Heathcliff turns to her desperately as she leaps towards him, and he catches her as they embrace. Nelly watches in confusion and is relieved to see Catherine move as she embraces Heathcliff.

Heathcliff curses Catherine for being cruel and selfish, asking her why she betrayed him. He tells her she has killed herself, and while she can still kiss him and cry, he asks her what right she has to leave him and claims that she caused the misery herself. In addition to breaking her own heart, she has also ruined his, laments on whether he should think, and shudders at the idea of her living as a soul. Catherine sobs that she has done wrong as she forgives him and begs him to forgive her, too.

He does forgive her, but not her murdered self, as the couple both wept. Nelly gets uncomfortable as the afternoon passes by quickly. The manservant Nelly had sent out on the errand has returned, and she notices from the sunshine on the western valley that the churchgoers are leaving the Gimmerton Chapel. She announces that the church service has ended and that her master will be home in half an hour.

Nelly then spots the servants walking down towards the kitchen wing. Edgar is not far behind as he opens the gate and strolls quietly to enjoy the beautiful afternoon. Nelly exclaims that her master is here, and Heathcliff must leave and hide in the trees until Edgar is inside. Heathcliff tells Catherine he must go, but if he lives, he will still see her again while he stays close by. Catherine begs him not to leave, and Heathcliff insists he must go before Edgar arrives. She clings onto him and again pleads with him not to leave. Heathcliff then senses that Edgar is already here and decides to stay with her; he hopes that if Edgar kills him, he’ll at least die with a blessing.

Nelly listens in horror as she hears her master coming up the stairs. She asks Heathcliff if he will still listen to her mistress’ ravings as she doesn’t know what she is saying and urges him to leave quickly. She then screams as Edgar comes closer upon hearing her and enters the room. She is relieved when she sees that Catherine’s arms are relaxed with her head down and assumes she has either fainted or died. She thinks it would have been better for her to be dead than constantly ranting about her misery.

Edgar is about to confront Heathcliff, but he stops him by placing Catherine into his arms, telling him he should take care of her first before dealing with him. Heathcliff goes to sit down in the parlour. Edgar summons Nelly as they help revive Catherine, but she continues to be more bewildered and not recognizing anyone. Edgar, now worried for her health, forgets about Heathcliff. Nelly urges Heathcliff to leave, stating that Catherine is doing fine and that she will tell him more about her the following morning. Heathcliff says he won’t go but will stay in the gardens. He expects her to tell him about Catherine as he will be waiting by the larch trees, or he will return if Edgar is home. He then takes his leave.

At midnight that night, Catherine gives birth to a premature girl; she falls unconscious and dies two hours later.Edgar is devastated that he has no male heir, and Nelly laments to Edgar that he would have to pass his estate onto his daughter instead as she gazes at the tiny newborn, whom nobody pays much attention to after birth. The baby, named Catherine after her mother, was eventually looked after by Nelly and the servants, with Nelly lamenting how miserable the child’s life would be.

The next morning, Edgar sleeps beside his wife’s corpse lying in repose. Nelly notices how calm and peaceful Catherine looks in death and believes her spirit is now at peace in heaven with God. Shortly after sunrise, she goes outside; the servants presume she went out to relieve herself from watching over Catherine. However, he is going out to find Heathcliff, thinking he could still be at the larches if he hadn’t heard any news from the Grange unless he saw a messenger going to Gimmerton. If he is closer to the Grange, he could easily tell nothing is all right by the activity in the house. She wishes she could find him as she must tell him the tragic news but doesn’t know how she will break it to him. She finds him leaning against an old ash tree in the garden.

As she approaches him, Heathcliff immediately declares that Catherine is dead, and Nelly sheds tears to show her sympathy for him and Catherine. She confirms that her mistress is dead while drying her tears and hopes she has gone to Heaven when she will be until everyone joins her if they take due warning and leave their evil ways behind. Heathcliff demands to Nelly how Catherine died while trembling.

Nelly says that Catherine died quietly as she stretched herself and fell unconscious for 5 minutes until Nelly could no longer feel her pulse. She also says she lost her senses and no longer recognized anyone after he left. She hopes that Catherine will wake somewhere peaceful. Heathcliff, however, hopes she wakes in torment in an emotional outburst. He declares that Catherine is not in heaven and makes a solemn vow to Catherine that she will never rest when he is alive. He begs her to possess his body and drive him insane, as he cannot bear to live without her presence. He slams his head into a tree and lets out a painful howl. Nelly sees blood on the tree bark and his head stained, but she is reluctant to leave him. When he regains his senses and sees her, he wants to be left alone.

Catherine will be laid to rest on Friday, and her body is laid in an open coffin strewn with flowers and scented leaves in the drawing room. Edgar spent many days and nights guarding her body without sleep, while Heathcliff would spend his nights lurking outside. Nelly doesn’t speak to her master then, and he eventually leaves the room to rest on Tuesday evening. Nelly goes inside to open a window, hoping to give Heathcliff a final chance to say goodbye. However, he doesn’t show up for caution of his presence in the house; but Nelly sees a curl of light hair on the floor fastened with a silver thread. When she examines it, she notices that it’s from the locket worn on Catherine’s neck, and Heathcliff has opened it and replaced Edgar’s lock of hair with his own. She twines them together and leaves them enclosed in the locket.

Hindley was invited to his sister’s funeral but never showed up, while Isabella was not invited. The only ones attending the funeral are Edgar, the servants, and the tenants. To the villagers’ surprise, Catherine is not buried in the Linton family crypt inside the chapel or with her relatives. Instead, she is interred in a green slope in the corner of the kirkyard that overlooks the moors.

Following the Friday funeral service, the weather on the moors turns bleak. First came wind and rain, followed by heavy snowfall. Despite being three weeks into summer, the plants and flowers of the moors are already covered in snow. Edgar is in his room, and Nelly is in the empty parlour she turned into a nursery for baby Cathy. While she is rocking the infant and watching the snow fall outside the window, the door bursts open, and someone comes in laughing hysterically. Nelly is astonished and thinks it’s one of the maids telling her not to be so excited while the master rests. A familiar voice says she can't help it when she knows he is asleep.

After a pause, the intruder says she has run all the way from the Heights and is aching all over. She will explain everything shortly and asks Nelly to arrange a coach for her to Gimmerton and have a servant arrange her clothes. The intruder is Isabella, her hair soaked from the snow, wearing the usual lady dresses she usually wears, and has a low frock with short sleeves. She is wearing slippers and has a deep cut under one ear. The cold prevented her from bleeding profusely, and her face is scratched and bruised.

Nelly tells Isabella she needs to get changed into dry clothes before she can hear her story, and she cannot go to Gimmerton. Isabella insists she will walk or ride there and won’t change herself as the fire is already drying her wet clothes. She again orders Nelly to fulfill her plans before she lets her be examined. While the coachman is getting ready and a maid is packing her clothes, Nelly binds Isabella’s wound and helps change her clothes.

Isabella sits on the chair at the hearth with a cup of tea. She asks Nelly to sit opposite her and wants her to take away the baby, as she remembers how she never reconciled with her sister-in-law and can never forgive herself for it. She throws her wedding ring onto the floor, smashes it with a fire poker and tosses the broken pieces into the fire. She knows that she is not welcome at the Grange by her brother, but she has to come back here. If Edgar was not in her way, she would have washed in the kitchen, warmed herself, asked Nelly to bring her what she wanted, and then left to go somewhere far ahead from Heathcliff.

Nelly interrupts her and tells her to talk slowly. Otherwise, she would have the handkerchief she tied around her wound unfastened, and it would bleed again. She reminds her to drink her tea and get over her laughter, as the house is sombre and cannot handle her condition. Isabella is bothered by baby Cathy’s crying and orders Nelly to send it away for an hour, or else she will leave. Nelly rings a bell, and a servant takes the child away; then she asks Isabella how she escaped from Wuthering Heights and where she would go now that she is no longer welcome at the Grange.

Isabella wishes to stay to delight Edgar and help look after the baby, as Thrushcross Grange is her real home. But she knows that Heathcliff will not allow it, and she opens up on how he despises her to the point that he gets very annoyed whenever he sees or hears her. His hatred towards her would make her decide to escape him and even wishes he killed himself. She laments how she loved him before discovering his monstrosity and is shocked that Catherine is perverted enough to love and respect him. Nelly assures her he is just a human and that other men are far worse than him. Isabella retorts that he is not a human, and when she loves him, he ends up ruining her romantic affection. Since then, she has had no feelings for him and will refuse to do so until his death.

Isabella starts crying but wipes her tears and tells Nelly she might want to know how she escaped. She claims she had already irritated him until he went into a murderous, violent rage, and she broke free from him. She then talks about the events leading to her escape.

Yesterday, Hindley was supposed to attend the funeral and attempted to make himself sober but ended up drinking. Isabella would spend most of her time alone, and the night Catherine was laid to rest, Heathcliff went out to pay his final respects. Hindley locked him out after a snowstorm arrived, but Heathcliff returned and tried to make his way into the house. Hindley told Isabella of his plan to kill Heathcliff, and when Heathcliff demanded to be let in, she tried to warn him that Hindley was armed. Heathcliff bursts through the window and cuts Hindley's wrist with the pistol's knife, and they fight until Hindley is unconscious.

Hindley did not know what had happened the previous night the following morning. When Heathcliff walked in, Isabella prepared to throw a dart at him. However, Nelly interrupts her and says it is cruel for her to torture Heathcliff as he did to her.

Isabella says she could have caused more of Heathcliff's sufferings but hoped she could forgive and tame him more at one point. But since she cannot avenge herself, she cannot forgive him. She then gave Hindley a refreshment and told him what Heathcliff did to him. She recalled how Catherine used to brag about how she made sure nobody harmed Hindley for fear of bothering her and said that she doesn't believe the dead come back from the dead, but she could have witnessed a shocking scene.

Isabella claimed that Catherine would have still been alive at the Grange if it hadn't been for Heathcliff, and after she insulted Heathcliff by saying Catherine would have been different if she married him, Heathcliff threw a kitchen knife at her, leaving the cut under her ear. Then, Heathcliff and Hindley start fighting again and prompting her to make her escape and run towards the Grange. She declares she will never again stay in another place like Wuthering Heights.

Isabella finishes her tea, then asks Nelly to put on her bonnet and shawl, and kisses the portraits of Edgar and Catherine. After making a final salute to Nelly, she heads for the coach and is accompanied by a servant named Fanny, who is joyful that she has been found. The coach drives away, and Isabella leaves Yorkshire forever, although she and Edgar began a correspondence when everything was settled. Nelly thinks that she has settled near London, and a few months after her escape, Isabella gives birth to a son named Linton, who has been a peevish, fragile child since birth.

While in Gimmerton, one day, Heathcliff asks Nelly about Isabella's whereabouts, and she refuses to tell him. Heathcliff remarks that he doesn't want to know anytime, except that she shouldn't return to be with her brother. He eventually finds out where his wife and son are through the servants but doesn't plan to go after them. He asks more about the boy whenever he sees Nelly, and when he learns about his name, he smiles and asks if he is expected to hate his son, too. Nelly says he shouldn't know anything about Linton, but Heathcliff thinks he will have his son when he wants.

The same day when Isabella arrived unexpectedly, Nelly didn't get to speak with Edgar, as he refused to talk. When he does listen to her, he is pleased that Isabella has left Heathcliff, whom he has such an intense hatred against. So much so that he refuses to go anywhere where he is likely to see or hear about Heathcliff. He then becomes a recluse, shuts up his office, stops going to church, avoids the village, and spends all his time in his house and gardens. He only leaves the Grange to walk on the moors and visit Catherine's grave, which he usually does in the early morning or evening.

He initially ignores his newborn daughter Cathy, but he loves and dotes on her before long. She was never called by her full name since her mother wasn't called Cathy, and Heathcliff may have a habit of referring to her name for short.

Hindley dies six months later after Catherine. While Nelly doesn’t hear more details about his passing, she is informed that she will be helping in the preparations for the funeral. Mr. Kenneth came to the Grange to announce the event to Edgar. One morning, Mr. Kenneth meets Nelly in the courtyard and tells her it is their turn to go into mourning. He also says Heathcliff is doing well following Hindley's death.

He tells her he died a drunkard at 27 years old, and she can't help but feel sorry for him despite his bad ways. Nelly admits this news is less shocking than Catherine's and sits on the porch weeping as she lets Mr. Kenneth find another servant to introduce him to Edgar. She ponders to herself that nothing went wrong with Hindley's death, and it bothers her so much that she decides to ask if she could go to the Heights and assist more with the funeral preparations. Edgar is reluctant to give her permission, and Nelly pleads eloquently that she used to work for Mr. Earnshaw and Hindley. She also brings up that Hareton is Catherine's nephew and should be placed under Edgar's care, as well as looks over how much property is left and the concerns of Hindley. Edgar is unwilling to do this himself but bids Nelly speak to his lawyer and allows her to go to the Heights. The lawyer also works for Hindley.

Nelly goes to the village and asks him to accompany her to the Heights. He refuses, advising Heathcliff to be left alone, and Hareton would likely be impoverished if the truth is revealed. He then reveals that Hareton's father died deeply in debt, with the whole property being mortgaged and that the only heir would allow him to create some interest for the creditor.

Shocked, Nelly reaches the Heights, explaining that she came over to check up on everything. Joseph, who looks stressed, is satisfied to see her. Heathcliff says he wasn't expecting her, but she can stay and help with the arrangements for the funeral. He says that Hindley should be buried at the crossroads without a ceremony. He explains that he left him alone for 10 minutes yesterday in the early afternoon, locked him out and drank all night heavily. Heathcliff and the others broke into the house and found Hindley lying on the settle, and by the time he summoned Mr. Kenneth, he was already dead. Joseph confirms the statement and says that Hindley should have called for the doctor himself. He would have looked after his master more properly and wasn't dead when he left him.

Nelly insists there be some respect at the funeral. Heathcliff reveals that it had been his whole idea to seize Hindley's wealth by lending him large amounts of money to support his gambling addiction. As Hindley's coffin is carried out of the house, Heathcliff lifts Hareton onto a table, declares to the boy that he belongs to him now, and plans to treat him the same way Hindley had before. Hareton seems pleased to hear this and strokes Heathcliff's face. Nelly insists Hareton must return to the Grange, and Edgar ordered her to retrieve the boy. Heathcliff doesn't want to talk about it and asks her to tell her master that he will be looked after at the property if he plans to remove it. As for Hareton, he will not allow him to leave the Heights. Nelly reports this to Edgar, who doesn't want to talk more about it.

Heathcliff is now the owner of Wuthering Heights. The attorney revealed to Edgar that since Hindley mortgaged his whole property with the money for his gambling, Heathcliff has now inherited all of it. Instead of being a wealthy gentleman, Hareton now depends on his new master and lives with him as an impoverished servant.

### Cathy Linton Grows up/Linton Arrives in Yorkshire

The following 12 years were the happiest in Nelly's life. Cathy endured many illnesses like most children at an early age, but within six months, she grew up fast. Cathy is now a beautiful young girl with the Earnshaw's eyes, the Linton's pale skin, and curly blonde hair. Her behaviour resembles her late mother, as she is gentle and lively but can also be quick-tempered and fiery. She always threatens to tell her father whether a servant bothered her, and while Edgar wasn't harsh to his daughter, he tutored her himself, and she becomes a quick learner.

At age 13, Cathy hasn't stepped outside the Grange alone. On some occasions, Edgar would take her out for walks about a mile outside the property, but other than that, he entrusted her to nobody. She had only been to the Gimmerton Chapel but did not know the Heights or Heathcliff. Whenever she looked outside her nursery window, she would ask Nelly when she could go outside the Grange and see what was on the other side of the moors. Nelly would tell her it is just more hills, and one time Cathy asks about the golden rocks outside since the Penistone Crags abruptly catches her interest. Nelly assures her they were just masses of stone with barely any dirt to nourish a tree. Cathy wants to know why they are still bright after dark, and Nelly says that they are higher and would be too steep to climb them. They would be covered in frost during winter, and then in summer, Nelly would find some leftover snow under the hollow of the northeastern side.

Cathy is excited that Nelly has seen them and wants to go when she is grown up. She asks if her father Edgar has ever been to them, and Nelly replies that he can tell her himself. But she assures her that the Crags are not worth visiting, as the moors are nicer, and the Park at the Grange is the finest in the world. Cathy murmurs that she will look for it while on her pony Minny. After one of the maids mentions the Fairy Caves, Cathy becomes interested and pesters her father about it. Edgar says she can go there when she is older, but since the road to the Fairy Caves is close to Wuthering Heights, Edgar won't have the courage to pass it and tells her not to go yet.

Isabella has lived in London with her young son Linton, who is now around the same age as Cathy, for a dozen years after she left Heathcliff. She falls gravely ill for four months and one day writes to her brother Edgar that she is dying and begs him to come to London for a final farewell and to retrieve her son. She expects Linton to be in his uncle's safe care and dreads him living with his father. Edgar immediately plans to travel to London, and before he leaves, he assigns Nelly to keep a close eye on Cathy and ensure she doesn't wander away from the property.

Edgar leaves and is absent for three weeks. During the first day or two, Cathy mostly spent her time in the library and didn't feel like playing or reading. Nelly is concerned by her behaviour and decides to keep her entertained by having her walk around the Grange grounds on foot or horseback. After a day of rambling around the property, Cathy would talk about her imaginary stories. Nelly thinks she will be safe as the gates are locked and hopes she won't venture out alone if they are left open. One morning at around 8 o'clock, Cathy tells Nelly that she is an Arabian merchant and will cross the desert in a caravan. She asks her to provide her with supplies for herself and her horse. Nelly puts some delicacies in a basket on one side of the saddle. Cathy then rides away on her pony.

Cathy doesn't return for tea and only the dog returns. Nelly sends some emissaries to look for her before she ends up searching for Cathy herself. She spots a labourer working on a fence by the plantation, and Nelly asks him if he has seen Cathy. The labourer replies that she saw her this morning before leaping over the hedge on her pony and galloping out of sight. Nelly immediately suspects Cathy could have gone to Penistone Crags and wonders what happened to her as she pushes her way out of the fence and heads straight to the high road. She walks until she is close to the Heights but cannot find Cathy anywhere. The Crags are nearby from the Heights, and she fears it will get dark before she can find her. She also worries that Cathy could have fallen from the rocks or been killed or injured.

She is relieved when she reaches the farmhouse at the Heights, where she spots one of the pointers, Charlie lying under a window with a swelled head and bleeding ear. She opens the gate, runs to the door and knocks on it. A servant named Zillah, whom Nelly knows from Gimmerton and who worked at the Heights after Hindley's death, answers the door. Zillah suggests she has come for Cathy, who is safely inside the house and is relieved it isn't Heathcliff. Zillah says Heathcliff and Joseph are out and should return within the hour. She invites Nelly to come in and rest for a while.

Nelly enters and sees Cathy on the hearth, rocking herself on a small chair that was her mother's as a child. Cathy's hat is hanging on a wall, and she seems to enjoy herself while laughing and talking with Hareton, who is now 18 years old. Nelly scolds Cathy that this will be her last ride until Edgar returns and will not trust her to wander out alone again. Cathy happily gets up and runs to her, saying she has a story to tell her later today and asks if she has been to the Heights before. Nelly orders her to put on her hat and return home immediately, and she is already stressed out from looking for her. She even reminds her how her father assigned her as her guardian, and nobody trusts her anymore. Cathy then cries about what she has done, and Edgar won't scold her, as he's never angry like Nelly.

Nelly again orders Cathy to come with her, but Cathy refuses. Zillah tells Nelly not to be too harsh on Cathy and that she was stopped from riding further, with Hareton wanting to go with her. During the discussion, Hareton looked too awkward to speak. Nelly asks how long she has to wait, as it will be dark in 10 minutes. She asks Cathy where is her pony and one of the pointer dogs, and she will leave her soon unless she's quick enough to join her. Cathy replies that the pony is in the yard and Phoenix is injured. She wants to tell Nelly what happened but won't when she is angry. Nelly takes Cathy's hat, brings it back to her, and ends up chasing her around the room. Hareton and Zillah laugh, and Zillah joins in until Nelly tells Cathy she would want to leave when she learns who owns the house.

Cathy asks Hareton if the house belongs to his father, and Hareton says no while blushing and looking away. She turns to Nelly and asks who his master is, as he's referring to the building as "our house." She thought he was the owner's son and never said this. She asks if Hareton is a servant, but Nelly prepares her to leave. Cathy asks Hareton to bring her pony and wants him to accompany her. Hareton calls her a witch. Nelly says she shouldn't argue with him, and they will find Minny themselves and leave.

Cathy is astonished that Hareton insulted her and why he isn't doing what he's told. She warns him she'll tell on her father and orders him to do his task. He doesn't react to her threat, and she turns to Zillah and demands he free her pony and dog. Zillah calms her down and informs her that Hareton is not the master's son, but he is her cousin. Cathy is shocked and pleads to Nelly not to let people tell her that her father is bringing her cousin Linton back from London. She then bursts into tears, and Nelly consoles her by stating that everyone like she has more than one cousin. Cathy embraces her and denies Hareton is her cousin. Nelly is already annoyed at Cathy and Zillah but thinks Cathy would want to ask her father about her other, supposedly rude cousin Hareton.

Hareton feels bad for Cathy and retrieves her pony to the door. He even offers to give her a crippled terrier puppy, but Cathy glances at Hareton in shock and horror. Nelly pities Hareton for being a handsome young gentleman but is forced to wear dirty, ragged clothes from working on the farm and wandering the moors. She believes Heathcliff doesn't mistreat Hareton but appears to make him look like a brute. Hareton may have never learned to read or write, but he never irritated his master or taught him to be more polite. She hears Joseph is fond of Hareton, and since Joseph constantly scolded Heathcliff and Catherine in the past and sought solace by drinking, he would blame all Hareton’s problems on Heathcliff. Whenever Hareton swore, Joseph wouldn't correct him as he is satisfied by his rough attitude and the fact that he is ruined. Heathcliff has to take responsibility for Hareton, even if a conflict arises.

Cathy refuses the puppy and wants her two dogs, Charlie and Phoenix. The dogs, Cathy and Nelly, walk home in silence. Nelly knows she can’t make Cathy tell her how she spent the day at the Heights. She suggests that she was probably going to the Crags first but ended up near the gate to the farmhouse. Hareton emerged with his dogs, and they started attacking Cathy's dogs. Cathy and Hareton were introduced after they broke up the fight. Cathy asked Hareton if he would show her the way, and he accompanied her. He then brought up the Fairy Caves, but Nelly would not think about what he described.

On the way home, Nelly makes Cathy promise she will not tell about her visit to the Heights to Edgar. Since her master would despise that his daughter went near the Heights and she couldn't keep her away, he would fire her. Cathy promises she will keep her word.

The same day Edgar is on his way home, Nelly receives a letter sent by him that says Isabella is dead. He asks her to prepare Cathy for mourning and to arrange a room for Linton. Cathy is overjoyed that her father is finally coming home and looking forward to meeting her "real" cousin. That night, Edgar and Linton are expected to arrive at the Grange, and while wearing her mourning clothes, Cathy asks Nelly to take her outside to meet Linton. While the women stroll around the grounds, Cathy chatters that Linton may be six months younger than her but thinks he will be the perfect playmate, and Isabella gave Edgar a lock of Linton's hair. Cathy carefully placed it in a glass box and wondered how Linton would react if she gave him his lock of hair. She gets very excited as she runs around. When Nelly reaches the gate, Cathy sits down but cannot stay still. She exclaims how long it's taking and asks Nelly if they should leave.

Nelly refuses, but before long, the coach appears. Cathy gets excited as she sees Edgar's face in the coach window. He emerges from the vehicle, and while Edgar and Cathy embrace, Nelly looks in the coach and sees Linton asleep in a corner covered in a warm, fur-lined cloak. He is a pale, delicate boy who resembles his uncle Edgar but looks sickly and weak. Linton wakes up and asks her to leave him alone as he is fatigued from the journey. Cathy wants to glance at Linton, but Edgar asks her to accompany him as Nelly prepares to inform the servants. Edgar informs his daughter that Linton isn't as strong as she is, and she won't expect him to interact with her playfully. Cathy obeys him but still wants to see Linton.

Linton is lifted out of the coach by Edgar. He is introduced to Cathy, and Edgar tells him he can finally rest after a long journey. Linton says he wants to go to bed, and Nelly leads him inside, saying how much Cathy pities him. Everyone goes inside as tea is already laid out in the library. Nelly removes Linton's hat and cloak and places him on a chair, but he starts to cry. Edgar asks what is wrong, and Linton sobs that he cannot sit in a chair. Edgar asks him to sit on the sofa, and Nelly brings him his tea. Linton stumbles to the sofa and sits there, with Cathy bringing him a footstool and tea. She then starts stroking his curly hair, kissing his cheek and offering him tea in her saucer, which makes Linton feel better.

Edgar tells Nelly he's convinced Linton will thrive at the Grange if he stays here. Nelly muses to herself about how they can keep Linton and doubts it would be possible. She then thinks about how Linton would live at the Heights under the supervision and care of Heathcliff and Hareton. After tea, Nelly takes Cathy and Linton upstairs to their bedrooms and stays with Linton until he falls asleep. She goes downstairs into the hall to light a bedroom candle for Edgar when a maid from the kitchen informs her that Joseph is at the door and wants to speak with Edgar. Nelly says she will ask him first what he wants, as she finds this odd that he has come this very late, especially after Edgar just came home from a long journey. Joseph then appears in the hall, wearing his Sunday clothes while holding his hat in one hand and his walking stick in the other.

Nelly greets Joseph coldly and asks what he wants. Joseph replies that he wishes to speak with Edgar, and Nelly says he has gone to bed and wouldn’t want to hear from Joseph unless his message is important. Nelly asks him to let her pass on his message to her master. But knowing that Joseph won’t do as Nelly tells him, she goes to the library and informs Edgar of their unexpected visitor, even advising that Joseph should be dismissed the next day. At that moment, Joseph arrives and tells Edgar that Heathcliff has sent him to retrieve his son. Edgar is silent for a minute, remembering Isabella’s final wish and feeling grief-stricken to have to give him up to his father. He then gives in and asks Joseph to tell his master Heathcliff that he will send Linton over to the Heights tomorrow morning, as he is asleep and too tired to go. He also wants him to remind Heathcliff that Linton was entrusted to his uncle’s guardianship, and his health is at risk now.

Joseph refuses to let Heathcliff take account of Isabella or Edgar, and he must have his son right now. Edgar firmly responds that Linton will not leave tonight, reminds Joseph to tell his master what he said, and instructs Nelly to show him to the door. As Joseph leaves, he insists that Linton be brought to the Heights first thing in the morning. After Joseph is gone, Edgar instructs Nelly to take Linton to the Heights on Cathy’s pony, and she also must not tell Cathy where Linton has gone as he finds it best if Cathy doesn’t know about Linton’s whereabouts; instead, Nelly should tell her Linton left because his father had just sent for him.

At 5 o’clock the next morning, Linton is woken up and is surprised to learn he will be going on another journey, but Nelly assures him he will see his father, Heathcliff, who is looking forward to meeting him. Linton says his mother never told him about his father, and he would rather stay with his uncle. He asks where his father lives, and Nelly replies that he lives a small distance from the Grange, which is located over the hills, and he would be able to walk back to the Grange when he is healthier. She tells him he should be happy he’s returning home as he should learn to love his father like his mother. Linton asks why he has never heard of him and why his parents never lived together. Nelly replies that he had to tend business in the north of England, and his mother lived in the south to maintain her health. Linton then asks why his mother never mentioned his father; she had always talked about his uncle and learned to love him but doesn’t know how he’ll love the father he has never met. Nelly assures that all children love their parents and thinks he would be interested in his father if his mother raised him more. She tells him to get ready for the journey to the Heights.

Linton asks if Cathy or Edgar would come with him, and Nelly replies no, as she will be the one to accompany him to the Heights. He sinks back onto his pillow and refuses to go anywhere without his uncle. Nelly attempts to persuade him not to be so reluctant when he is about to meet his father, and when he refuses to get dressed, she has to summon Edgar to help her coax Linton to get out of bed. Linton finally gets up with assurances that Edgar and Cathy can still visit him and other promises. The heather-scented morning air and bright sunshine lifted Linton’s spirits while riding on Minny. He then questions Nelly about the Heights, its inhabitants, and its environment.

Linton asks if Wuthering Heights is a nice place to live while taking a final glimpse of the valley. Nelly says it is not surrounded by trees or very large, but he will have a beautiful view of the countryside and the fresh and healthy air. She reminds him he may find the house a bit dark and gloomy at first, but it’s a very respectable building, and he will enjoy wandering on the moors. His cousin, Hareton, will show him around, and he could even read outside and be joined by his uncle, who frequently walks on the hills. Linton asks what his father is like and if he is young and handsome like Edgar. Nelly replies that he is young but has dark eyes and hair. Initially, he may be firm with Linton, but if Linton gets along with his father, he may lighten up on him.

Linton muses about his father’s black eyes and hair and asks if he is not like him. Nelly replies that he doesn’t look a lot like him as she surveys his pale skin and mother’s blue eyes. Linton murmurs about how his father never visited him and his mother. He thinks he was still a baby if he ever came over, but he has no memories. Nelly explains that 300 miles are too far for Heathcliff to see him, and he may have attempted to visit his wife and son in the summers but never did. She asks Linton not to trouble his father with any more questions. Linton ponders his thoughts for the rest of the ride until they reach the Wuthering Heights farmhouse. He surveys the property around him and doesn’t think it is the perfect home for him. Before he dismounts, Nelly goes to open the door. It was already half past 6, and the inhabitants had just finished breakfast. Zillah is clearing away the table, Joseph stands by Heathcliff’s chair telling a story, and Hareton prepares to work in the hayfield.

Heathcliff greets Nelly when he sees her and says he should have gone to the Grange to retrieve Linton. But when he notices that she has brought his son to him, he decides to see him face-to-face. He gets up and goes to the door, with Hareton and Joseph following him curiously. Linton looks frightened when he looks at them. Joseph inspects the boy while Heathcliff stares at his son in confusion and laughs scornfully at his beautiful, charming face. Nelly makes Linton go inside, but he clings onto Nelly in fear and cries when Heathcliff beckons him to come to him. Heathcliff drags Linton towards him and tells him he won’t hurt him.

Heathcliff takes off Linton’s hat and examines his hair and skin. Linton stops crying, and Heathcliff asks if he knows or has heard of him. Linton replies no, and Heathcliff calls Isabella a slut for never mentioning her son’s father to him. He orders him to behave, tells Nelly she may leave and suggests she’ll return to the Grange to report what she has seen. Nelly reminds Heathcliff to be kind to his son, or he won’t keep him for much longer. Heathcliff laughs and assures her he will take good care of Linton. He then orders Joseph to bring his son some breakfast and orders Hareton to get to work. Heathcliff also adds that he knows Linton owns the Grange and hopes he will live long enough for him to become his successor.

Despite Heathcliff's hatred for his son, he again assures Nelly that he will be in his care, as he will have his room furnished and hire a tutor. He has ordered Hareton to obey Linton and hopes that Linton will become a gentleman for everything he does for him. But he is clearly pestered by his son’s weak, whiny voice. Joseph then appears and serves Linton a basin of milk porridge, but Linton looks disgusted and refuses to eat it. Joseph assures him that the kinds of food Hareton only eats would be good for him. Linton demands that Joseph take the basin away. Joseph takes the bowl and tells Heathcliff that his son refuses to eat them, just like his mother. Heathcliff angrily demands Joseph not to say her name and orders him to bring his son some food he may like. He asks Nelly what Linton usually eats, and Nelly suggests serving him some boiled milk and tea. While Heathcliff looks like he may lighten up on his son, she plans to inform Edgar about this. She decides to leave while Linton is busy petting a sheepdog. As she closes the door, she hears Linton begging her not to leave him, but she mounts Minny and rides away.

Later that morning, Cathy wakes up excited to be with Linton but is devastated when she is told about his departure.Edgar consoles her and assures them he will return soon, but she stops asking about him as time passes. Whenever Nelly visited Gimmerton, she would meet the Heights’ housekeeper and ask about Linton. She learns he is more seclusive but is still in his weakened state. Heathcliff reportedly hates his son more and cannot stand his whiny voice. In addition, Linton would either spend his days in the parlour or bed and is constantly sick. The housekeeper also describes how Linton would complain if the window was open and always needs a fire in the middle of summer. He cannot stand Joseph’s smoking, always eats sweets and milk, and doesn’t get along with Hareton. At the same time, Heathcliff would have allowed Hareton to bully Linton, but Hareton never goes into the parlour, and when he sees Linton in different parts of the house, he immediately sends him upstairs.

Nelly had sensed that Linton would be mistreated at the Heights but pitied him and wished he was still at the Grange. Edgar encourages Nelly to gather information about Linton, as he constantly thinks about him and would find it risky to see him himself. Once, Edgar had Nelly ask the housekeeper if Linton was ever in Gimmerton, and she replied he had been twice on horseback accompanied by Heathcliff. 2 years after Linton was taken into the Heights, the housekeeper left, and another took her place.

About a year later, Cathy celebrates her 16th birthday, although there is hardly any rejoicing at the Grange as it was also the anniversary of her mother’s death. Edgar would spend his time alone in the library, and at dusk, he would walk to Catherine's grave and stay there until midnight; therefore, his daughter would have to entertain herself on her birthday.

It is a beautiful spring day on Cathy's birthday. She prepares to go outside and tells Nelly she asked her father's permission if she and Nelly can go out into the moors. Edgar asked her to be a short distance from the Grange and must be back home within the hour. Cathy tells Nelly to hurry up to find some birds on the moors. Nelly puts on her bonnet, and Cathy runs ahead and returns to her side before running again. Nelly listens to the larks and enjoys the warm sunshine while watching Cathy.

Nelly asks Cathy where the birds she's hunting are, as they are already far from the Grange. Cathy replies that it is only further away up the hillock and past the bank, where the birds' nests should be. Since there are so many hills and banks to cross, Nelly is tired and tells Cathy they should stop and return. She calls out to her, but she has run ahead of her and doesn't respond, and she has no choice but to follow her. Cathy has jumped into a hollow, and before Nelly can glimpse her again, she spots her about 2 miles near the Heights and talks to two men; Nelly is convinced one of them is Heathcliff. Cathy is hunting the nests on the grounds of the Heights and is scolded by Heathcliff. Cathy says she didn't take any eggs or found any since her father told her where they were, as Nelly searches her hands to prove her statement. Heathcliff then glances at Nelly with a sinister smile and demands who Cathy's father is.

Cathy replies that he is Mr. Linton of Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff sarcastically asks her if her father is self-esteemed and respected. Cathy then points to Hareton, behind Heathcliff, and asks him if he is his son. Nelly interrupts and tells her they have been out for nearly an hour and they must return home. Heathcliff pushes her aside and tells Cathy that Hareton is not his son, but he has a son she met a few years earlier. He decides to let Nelly and Cathy take some time to rest and come with him to the Heights. Nelly whispers to Cathy that she shouldn't go with Heathcliff, and Cathy says she is tired and wants to go to the Heights with Heathcliff.

Heathcliff orders Hareton to lead Cathy and invites Nelly to come as he seizes her arm. Nelly refuses to let Cathy visit the Heights as she struggles from Heathcliff's grasp, but Cathy is already walking up to the house, and Hareton is gone.

Nelly insists to Heathcliff that it is wrong that Cathy is seeing Linton at the Heights, and she will be in trouble if all of this comes to light. Heathcliff says he wants Cathy to see his son, who is already slowly recovering, and he would make sure the visit is kept secretive. Nelly says her master will hate it if he learns she indirectly allowed Cathy to be at the Heights, and she's convinced Heathcliff is persuading her to do so. Heathcliff says he wants Linton and Cathy to fall in love and potentially marry; he is willing to send his generosity to Edgar, and once everything goes to plan, Cathy will be a successor to Linton. Nelly says if Linton dies, Cathy will be the heir. Heathcliff replies that she won't as this was not secured in the will, and his son's property would go to him. He is still determined to arrange a union between Cathy and Linton. As they walk to the gate, Nelly assures him Cathy will never go anywhere near the Heights with her again. Heathcliff quiets her as he opens the front door, where he warmly addresses Cathy.

Linton is sitting on the hearth after he walks into the fields and demands Joseph bring him some shoes. He is almost 16 years old and has grown taller than before, with his fair skin and blue eyes still the same but changed slightly from the sunlight. Heathcliff asks Cathy who the boy is, and Cathy guesses if it is his son. Heathcliff replies yes and asks Linton if he remembers Cathy. She is surprised at how tall Linton has grown and kisses him. She then tells Heathcliff he must be her uncle and asks if he would visit the Grange. Heathcliff replies that he has been to the Grange several times before she was born.

Cathy berates Nelly for trying to stop her from entering the house and would want to come over to the Heights frequently. She asks if she could bring her father with her during her visits, and Heathcliff replies that he and Edgar have a bitter feud with each other, and he will prevent Cathy from going to the Heights again if he finds out. He orders her never to mention anything about this to her father. Cathy asks why he is quarrelling with her father. Heathcliff says Edgar was overwhelmed with grief when he married Isabella, but Cathy still wants to tell Edgar about it and wants Linton to see her at the Grange. Linton explains he is too weak to walk 4 miles to the Grange and insists she visit him once or twice a week instead. Heathcliff mutters to Nelly that Cathy will discover Linton's value, and he covets Hareton's degradation multiple times a day. He then orders Linton to take Cathy to the stables. Hareton arrives, and Cathy asks Heathcliff if Hareton is her cousin. Heathcliff replies that he is her mother's nephew.

Heathcliff orders him to give Cathy a tour around the property and reminds him to be on his best behaviour. As he watches the couple walk past the window, Heathcliff asks Nelly if he's stupid, and she replies that he is worse. Heathcliff explains he is satisfied to have Hareton meet his expectations, and while he still sympathizes with him, he had taught him to be hostile to anyone weaker than him and wonders how Hindley would react if he sees his son the way he is now. Heathcliff also says Hareton is utterly fond of him, and if his father ever rose from the grave to confront him about how he treated his son, he would have Hareton fight back against him. He then chuckles fiendishly while Nelly makes no reply. Linton shows signs of uneasiness that he cannot be with Cathy for fear of suffering from fatigue. Heathcliff demands him to get up and go after Hareton and Cathy, and he does what he is told. Outside, Cathy asks Hareton what's written on the door, and he cannot read it. Linton giggles and says Hareton cannot read. Cathy replies that she has asked him about his literacy and can barely understand him. Linton laughs and mocks Hareton for his illiteracy and his Yorkshire pronunciation. Both Cathy and Linton laugh while Hareton angrily storms off in embarrassment.

They stay until the afternoon, and while Nelly has difficulty making Cathy leave with her, she is relieved to know Edgar is still in his room and unaware of their absence. On the way home, Cathy talks about the Heights residents and angrily scolds Nelly for keeping Linton’s whereabouts a secret from her. She asks Nelly to stay quiet about Heathcliff, and she’ll scold her father for his feud. Nelly convinces her to think about her visit to the Heights and not tell her father what happened. That night, she doesn’t see Edgar but reveals the truth to him the next day. Nelly wasn’t sorry about this, as she had tried to warn Edgar about Cathy, but he seemed too timid to attempt to keep Cathy away from the Heights.

Cathy confronts her father in the morning about how she met Heathcliff on the moors and where Linton was, with Nelly being secretive. She explains everything about her visit, and Edgar looks disappointed at Nelly. He doesn’t reply until Cathy finishes speaking and then asks her how she discovered where Linton was living. She answers it’s because he hates Heathcliff, and Edgar says it’s not because he hates Heathcliff, but he hates him, who is determined to ruin the lives of those he opposes. Nelly knows she will want to be in contact with her cousin, but he decides he doesn’t want her to see Linton again, and this is something he should have told her sooner. Cathy argues that Heathcliff treated her warmly and that she is welcome to see Linton at the Heights anytime. But since her father detests Heathcliff and would not forgive him for marrying her aunt Isabella, Cathy blames Edgar for the situation, and Heathcliff just wants her to be friends with Linton.

Edgar then explains Heathcliff’s abuse of Isabella and how the Heights became his property. He also states that Isabella would have been still alive and well if it hadn’t been for Heathcliff. Cathy is left shocked but fascinated, and Edgar concludes that she should not return to the Heights and forget about the inhabitants there. Cathy then kisses her father, does her studies for a few hours, and accompanies him when they walk around the Grange.

### Cathy and Linton’s Correspondence

That night, when Nelly goes to Cathy’s room to help her undress, she finds her on the floor crying. Nelly scolds her for calling and reminds her how she would feel if she or Edgar were dead and that she should be grateful for her current friends. Cathy replies that she’s crying because she has planned to see Linton tomorrow, and he’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t come. Nelly finds it nonsense, and Linton would have thought more of Cathy than she is and probably would have Hareton for a companion. She explains it’s not worth grieving for someone they have met only twice, and it’s something Linton will conjecture. Cathy gets up and asks if she could write a note to Linton explaining why she can’t come and send the books she promised him. Nelly refuses and says that once Linton starts writing to her, it won’t stop and orders her to drop it immediately. Cathy gets angry and doesn’t say good night to her. Nelly leaves the room, but feeling bad afterwards, she quietly looks inside and sees Cathy at her desk writing on some paper. She tells her nobody will deliver the letter for her as she puts out the candle and gets slapped by Cathy.

After she finishes her letter, Cathy forwards it to its destination by the local milk fetcher. She would continue for several weeks, with Nelly not knowing her secret for a while. Whenever she passed Cathy while reading, she hid her book, and Nelly would notice a piece of paper from the book pages. Cathy would also wake up early and roam around the kitchen as if she were waiting for something, and she kept a cabinet in the drawer she kept locked with a key and would rummage through for hours. One day, Nelly sees Cathy’s drawer and sees some folded paper. Her suspicions are roused, so she decides to investigate and waits until Edgar and Cathy are upstairs. She finds the keys until she finds the one that would fit the lock, takes all the papers and goes to her room to examine them. She then discovers Cathy was corresponding with Linton through the letters; the earliest letters were short but embarrassing, while the others looked like love letters. She doesn’t know if they satisfy Cathy, but they look like worthless trash to Nelly, and after reading most of them, she ties them into a handkerchief and sets it aside. She also locks the drawer.

Cathy wakes up early the next morning, and Nelly watches her enter the kitchen. When a messenger boy arrives to have his milk can filled by the dairymaid, Cathy puts something in his jacket pocket and pulls something else out. She then sneaks behind the garden and waits for the boy. She then takes a letter from him and threatens him with the consequences, and after he leaves, she rereads the letter; it is another letter from Linton. On a wet day, Cathy spent time in her drawer instead of outside. While Edgar is reading and Nelly is doing some housework, Cathy cries out, and Edgar asks her what is wrong, and she calls for Nelly. She comes to Cathy, who kneels and cries that she knows about her secret and begs her not to tell her father, insisting she will never do it again.

Nelly tells her she should be ashamed of herself and how she would react when she shows them to her father. Even if she hasn't shown them yet, she will not keep her secret from writing the letters. Cathy sobs that she loves him, and Nelly is outraged that she is already in love with someone she has only met for a few hours. She decides she will show the letters to Edgar in the library and holds them up above Cathy's reach as she tries to grab them. Cathy begs her to burn them and never reveal them to Edgar. Nelly then asks Cathy if she burns the letters; she must promise never again to receive or send any more letters to Linton and send him books and other trinkets. Cathy insists she is not sending anything, and Nelly warns that she will show them unless she consents. Cathy makes her promise and pleads with her to burn them. As Nelly proceeds to burn them, Cathy begs if she could keep one or two while Nelly disposes more from the handkerchief into the flames, and Cathy grabs some of the burned fragments. Nelly declares that if she does, she will reveal them to Edgar as she gathers the rest in a bundle.

Cathy disposes of the remaining blackened remains into the fire and motions her to finish burning. When done, Nelly buries the ashes under the coals, and Cathy quietly retires to her room. Cathy didn't show up until tea, her face pale and eyes red. The next day, Nelly answers the letter with a note requesting Heathcliff never again write to Cathy.

### Cathy and Linton's Secret Romance

Summer ends and autumn arrives. The harvest comes late that year as the fields are still uncleared. Edgar and Cathy occasionally go for walks on the moors and stay until dusk. One cold, damp evening, Edgar fell sick with a cold and would be confined indoors throughout the winter. Cathy becomes dull and depressed, and her father encourages her to read less and exercise more. Nelly ends up becoming her close companion. On a cloudy, damp afternoon, Nelly asks Cathy to do something to get over her depression as it might rain today. Cathy refuses, and Nelly puts on her cloak and umbrella to take her to the park to lift her spirits. But Cathy is still depressed as they walk on. On the other side of the path is a high bank where the roots of hazel and oak trees are half-rose from the ground, and during the summer, Cathy would enjoy playing among the roots and branches. Nelly would scold her for being too wild, and Cathy doesn't find it necessary not to have fun. From dinner to tea, Cathy would sit alone, sing, watch the birds, or lose herself in thought.

While outside, Nelly points Cathy to a bud of a bluebell flower at a nook under the roots of a twisted and encourages her to pick it for her father, as it is the last bud of the season. Cathy stares at the flower and refuses, asking Nelly why it looks sad. Nelly agrees with her on why the bluebell looks melancholy and tells her they should run ahead. Cathy says no as she strolls around and muses over the moss and grass. She becomes emotional, and Nelly asks her why she shouldn't be crying over her father's illness. Cathy sobs about what she would do when Nelly and Edgar are dead and is left alone. Nelly consoles her that she doesn't know if she or Edgar will live longer but is positive that there are many more years to live, as Edgar is still young and she is still strong at nearly 45 years old. She says her mother lived to the age of 80 and considers it foolish to mourn someone still young. Cathy remarks that her aunt Isabella died young, and Nelly explains that she and Edgar couldn't look after her, as she wasn't happy and had little to live for. She assures her she must be patient with her father and make him happy with her cheerfulness; she also reminds her to avoid making him anxious as he may die if she is too reckless around him for her foolish romance with Linton and allowing him to discover she fretted over the separation for so long.

Cathy states she will never do anything to bother Edgar as she still loves him very much and prays every day that she will live longer than him. Nelly praises her for her words and reminds her not to forget her resolutions once Edgar recovers. While talking, they come across a door that opens onto the road, and Cathy climbs onto the wall to reach for some fruit that grew on the summit of the wild rose trees. But her hat falls off on the other side, and since the door is locked, she jumps down behind the wall to retrieve her hat. Nelly bids her to be careful, and Cathy disappears, but when she returns a while later, she cannot climb over the wall or the tree. She asks Nelly to find the key, or she'll go to the porter's lodge. Nelly tells her to stay where she is as she has a bundle of keys in her pocket and tries to find the one that fits the lock. Cathy dances around behind the door while Nelly tries all the keys, and when none of them work, she is about to leave to find another solution when she hears someone on horseback approach her. Nelly whispers who it is, and Cathy begs her to find a way to open the door. Heathcliff's voice can be heard talking to Cathy, as he wants to speak with her. Cathy tells him he is wicked and cannot talk to him.

Heathcliff asks her why she hasn't written to Linton for the past few months. He also has her letters and threatens to blackmail her by sending them to Edgar. He tells her Linton is now depressed and may be dying of a broken heart, and despite him and Hareton trying to console him, he is still getting worse and may be dead by summer unless she restores him. Nelly calls to Heathcliff behind the wall that he is lying to her about Linton's condition, and tells Cathy she'll break the lock with a stone and not believe in any nonsense he's saying. Heathcliff chastises her for lying about him hating his son and coming up with stories to scare Cathy and keep her away from him. He then informs Cathy that he will be out for a week, and she must see Linton frequently. At that moment, Nelly breaks open the lock, and Heathcliff repeats that Linton is already close to death, and he tells Nelly that if she doesn't let Cathy go, she can go instead. He reminds them about his absence and doubts Edgar would barely object to her seeing her cousin. Nelly grabs Cathy's arm and tries to make her come through the door, as Heathcliff tells Cathy he has no patience for Linton, nor does Hareton and Joseph. Linton is constantly pining after her and wanting her love and kindness that would cure him. He reminds her to ignore Nelly's warnings and visit Linton, who always thinks about her.

Nelly shuts the door, rolls a stone to hold the loosened lock, and spreads open her umbrella. She pulls Cathy underneath as it starts to rain, and they hurry home without making any comments about their unexpected encounter with Heathcliff. She notices Cathy looks more miserable after seeing Heathcliff. By the time they arrive home, Edgar is already resting, and Cathy sees he is fast asleep when she checks on him. She then asks Nelly to sit with her in the library, where they had their tea, and afterwards, she sits down on the rug and asks Nelly not to talk, for she is already tired. Nelly takes a book and pretends to read while Cathy remains in her silent, depressed position. Then she expresses how outraged she is about Heathcliff's claims of his son, and Cathy claims he may be lying, but she won't be at ease until she sees Linton herself by telling her it isn't her fault she couldn't write to him. After arguing about it, both women go to bed. The next day, Nelly accompanies her to the Heights, as she cannot bear to see her upset and hopes Heathcliff is being a liar as usual when Linton recovers in Cathy's presence.

The rainy night brought a misty morning, with half frost and drizzle. Nelly is miserable as she and Cathy walk through the dreary weather and towards Wuthering Heights. They enter the house by the kitchen to be sure Heathcliff is absent. They see Joseph sitting by the fire, smoking his pipe and some toasted oak cake and ale on the table. Cathy comes in and warms herself at the hearth, and Nelly asks Joseph where Heathcliff is. It takes a while for him to hear her, and he refuses and tells her to leave. Then, a weak, peevish voice calls for Joseph from a nearby room. Joseph ignores his whiny pleas while the housekeeper is on an errand and Hareton is busy working. Linton yells at Joseph until Cathy runs to him and embraces him. Nelly fetches some coal and stirs up the cinders but knows she cannot rebuke Linton’s temper as he complains of being covered in ashes and looks unwell.

Linton asks Cathy why she didn't come before, and he is tired from writing all his letters to her. He never thanks Nelly for warming the room and asks where Zillah is. Not wanting to run back and forward, she tells him there is nobody but Joseph. Linton wants something to drink as Zillah is always away at Gimmerton following Heathcliff's departure. Nelly asks him if Heathcliff ever pays attention to him, and he replies a little more. He tells Cathy that he hates Hareton for the way he mocks him, and she brings him some water and then asks him if he is happy she is here with him.

Linton replies that he is weak in her absence and that his father told him Cathy hates him. Cathy denies this and says she loves him very much but not Heathcliff. Linton says his father is on the moors frequently, and they could spend a few hours together. Cathy strokes his hair and says she would love to if Edgar gave her permission, and Linton says she would love him more than Edgar if she were his wife. She denies she'll love anyone more than Edgar, and men sometimes hated their wives but not their siblings, and Edgar would have been fonder of him if he still lived at the Grange. Linton denies that men don't hate their wives, and Cathy insists they do by comparing his father's relationship with his mother. Nelly tries to calm Cathy down, but the young couple begins a heated argument about their fathers hating each other. Cathy gets angry as she tells him she hates him now, and Linton mocks her by saying her mother hated her father as he sits in his chair.

Nelly tells Linton to stop, and Cathy angrily pushes his chair, causing him to fall to the floor and have a coughing fit that frightens even Nelly, and she holds him until he has calmed down. He then pushes her away, and after waiting 10 minutes, Nelly asks him how he is feeling now. He calls Cathy spiteful and cruel for striking him, and Cathy mutters that she didn't strike him. He lays on the floor and moans to make her feel bad for him for a quarter of an hour. She apologizes for pushing him and hopes he isn't seriously hurt. Linton murmurs that her shove on him will give him more coughing fits and more agony all night alone. He wails out loud as Nelly tells him that if he has to spend the night alone, feverish and weak, Cathy won't be there to help him, and he would still be the same had she never visited him. Cathy asks him if she should leave, and he says she cannot change herself for what she has done. Afterwards, he wants to be left alone, as he cannot stand her talking. She hesitates for a while before heading to the door with Nelly following her when Linton screams as he slides out of his chair and starts writhing on the hearth. Cathy runs back to him and cries as she comforts him, and Nelly says she will put him on the settle. She tells Cathy that if she is satisfied, she cannot help him cure his illness and orders her to come with her and leave him alone until he is still.

Cathy props up some pillows to make him comfortable, but he keeps complaining it is too high, with Cathy struggling. Nelly tells him he is already comfortable, but Cathy insists he is doing fine now, and she may be more miserable than him now. He then tells her that she must come over and cure him because she had hurt him. Cathy decides they are still friends and asks if she will see him sometimes. He begs her to sit on the hearth and let him lie on her knee, where she could recite poetry or sing to him. She recites the longest poem she’s known until the clock strikes twelve, and Hareton is returning home. Linton asks Cathy if she will be back tomorrow, and she replies no but whispers something to him. Once they are outside, Nelly asks Cathy if she is coming back here tomorrow, and she smiles.

Nelly decides she will keep the house locked and prevent Cathy from escaping. Cathy laughs by saying she can easily climb over the wall, as she is confident Linton will recover when she looks after him, and they won’t fight like they did today. She asks Nelly if she likes him and says he is the most spoiled, bratty teenage boy she has ever seen. She adds that he may not live to adulthood or long enough by spring. She finds it a relief that his father took him in to be selfish and miserable, and he won’t be the ideal husband for Cathy.

Cathy gives her a serious look and says Linton may be younger than her, but she still has confidence that he will fully recover and even become stronger. Nelly decides she will keep this a secret from Edgar but warns Cathy that if she ever attempts to return to Wuthering Heights again, either by herself or with Nelly, she will inform her father and prevent her from going there again. They both reach home before dinner, and Edgar assumes they just went for a walk and didn’t ask any questions. Nelly removes her wet shoes and stockings, but the next morning, she falls sick with a cold from yesterday’s trip in the rain and is kept bedridden for three weeks without doing her housework. Cathy spends most of her time looking after her and Edgar throughout the day; she even skips all her meals, studies, and playtime to focus on her nursing duties. After six o’clock at night, Cathy was left alone, and Nelly never considered what she was up to after tea. Whenever she came to say goodnight to Nelly, she noticed her skin and face were flushed and pink. She thinks she may have sat by the library fire but is unaware that she secretly rides across the moors at night to see Linton at the Heights.

After three weeks, Nelly leaves her room and moves around the house. Since her eyes are still weak, she has Cathy read to her one evening in the library. Edgar has gone to bed, and Cathy isn’t interested in Nelly’s books, so she tells her to pick one of her favourites. After reading, Cathy asks if she is tired or should get some rest. Nelly assures her she is not tired and persuades her to keep reading, but Cathy looks at her watch and heads to her room. Nelly notices she looks peevish and rubs her eyes. The following night, she seems more impatient, and on the third evening, she leaves Nelly while suffering from a headache. She finds this response rather odd, and after being alone for some time, she decides to see her and question her about her condition.

But Cathy is nowhere to be found around the house. The servants say they didn’t see her, and Nelly listens at Edgar’s bedroom door, but there is silence. She goes into Cathy’s room, puts out the candle, and sits by the window. The moon is bright, and the snow lightly falls outside; she assumes Cathy may have walked into the garden to ease herself. She spots a figure at the inner fence of the park, but it isn’t Cathy; it is one of the stablemen. He gazes out on the grounds until he walks off and returns with Cathy’s pony. She is spotted dismounting and walking by its side.

The stableman leads the pony towards the stables, and Cathy enters through the drawing-room window. She quietly walks to her room, opens the door, and removes her shoes and hat. Nelly then reveals herself, which surprises Cathy. She confronts her about where she has been this late, and Cathy claims she was just at the park. Nelly cries about how Cathy lies to her and would rather be sicker than hear her lies. Cathy bursts into tears, runs to Nelly, and embraces her, begging her not to get angry at her if she tells her the truth. They sit by the window seat, and Nelly assures her she won’t scold her.

Cathy confesses she has been to Wuthering Heights and has been going there every day during Nelly’s illness, except she went there a few times before and twice after Nelly left her bedroom. She had offered the stableman Michael some books and pictures to have Minny prepared each evening and have her returned to the stable. She would arrive at the Heights at 6:30 and stay until 8:30 before riding home. She admits she is miserable at the Heights, and even though she had to cancel her visit to Linton, she snuck over anyway when Nelly was resting. While Michael was busy with the lock at the park door, she took the key and informed him her cousin was sick and she must go to see him, as he couldn't walk to Grange himself and her father would forbid her from seeing him. The stableman enjoys reading, so he convinced her to lend him the books from the library in exchange for preparing her pony, but she prefers giving him her books instead.

Cathy also confesses that during her second visit, Linton looked lively, and Zillah prepared them a room with a fire and could do whatever they wanted while Joseph and Hareton were busy. They also planned where they should go and what they’ll do in the summer. But one time, the couple argued about how they would spend a summer day, and they later made up.

But on her next visit, she trotted up the garden and went around the back when she ran into Hareton, who took Minny’s bridle and instructed her to go to the front entrance. Afterwards, he raised the front door latch while he looked up at the door’s inscription and told her he could read his name now. She is delighted he is doing better and wants him to pronounce it. He manages to read his name correctly, and she asks if he can read the number “1500”. He replied that he couldn't, and she mocked and laughed at him.

Cathy went inside to see Linton while Hareton skulked off. She adds that he is accomplished like Linton by being able to pronounce his name, and she was discomforted that she didn’t think the same. Nelly interrupts him and says she doesn’t appreciate her conduct towards Hareton. He may have been her second cousin and wanted to be more like Linton, but she had shamed him of his ignorance. He had tried to please her with his learning, and he was once a lively, intelligent child like her, and Cathy would have been less rude if she was brought up the same way as he was. Nelly now feels hurt at the fact Hareton will be despised now after the way he was treated by his master Heathcliff. Cathy even asks if she would cry about it, but she should wait for Hareton to pronounce his letters correctly.

Cathy continues where she left off. She went inside to see Linton lying on the hearth and was about to read to him when Hareton angrily burst into the room, seized Linton by the arm, and threw him off his chair. He swore at them and nearly threw Linton into the kitchen. She heard Joseph chuckling that Hareton was doing the right thing to teach him a lesson. Linton threatened to kill Hareton if he didn’t let him in.

Linton kept screaming until he coughed up blood and collapsed. Cathy quickly summoned Zillah, but when she arrived, they saw Hareton carrying Linton upstairs. Hareton told Cathy not to see him and that she must go home. She cried that he killed him and wept until Zillah assured her Linton would recover slightly.

Cathy prepared to leave, but Hareton stopped her and tried to apologize, but she hit him with her whip and rode away. She was so upset that she didn’t say goodnight to Nelly that night and didn’t return to Wuthering Heights the next day. Three days later, she returned at 5 o’clock, where she managed to sneak into the house unnoticed and went to Linton’s room. He didn’t talk to her for an hour. When he did, he blamed her for the humiliation forced on him the other day, and she left immediately. 2 days later, Cathy nearly decided she would never revisit him until she rode back to Wuthering Heights. She went into the parlour and informed Linton that she didn’t want to see him again, and he begged her forgiveness.

About three times, Cathy and Linton were happy, but he was selfish and miserable the rest of her visits, and she managed to endure his behaviour. Heathcliff avoided her most of the time, but during her Sunday visit, she witnessed Heathcliff abusing Linton for his conduct the previous night. She interrupted him by talking about it, but Heathcliff just laughed, saying he was glad she was part of it.

After finishing her story, Cathy knows she will be prevented from going to Wuthering Heights as she has caused misery to two people and begs Nelly not to tell her father and keep her visits a secret. Nelly says she will make up her mind by tomorrow and tells Cathy to get some rest. After thinking it over, Nelly goes to Edgar’s room and informs him about Cathy’s visits to Wuthering Heights but leaves out her conversations with Linton and Hareton. He is shocked by what he hears, and the next morning, Cathy is told to end her secret visits to the Heights, which leaves her devastated. She begs her father to let him pity Linton, and Edgar promises her Linton would still write to her; instead of her visiting him at the Heights, he could come over to the Grange instead. However, Edgar is unaware that his nephew is unable to walk to the Grange due to his fragile health.

Cathy obeys her father and ends her visits to Wuthering Heights, and Edgar is anxious about his daughter being left with her perils and enemies. A few days later, Edgar talks with Nelly about wishing Linton would write or visit and asks her if he is doing better or turning bad like his father as he matures. Nelly replies that Linton is very delicate and may not live to adulthood, but he isn’t a lot like Heathcliff. If Cathy marries Linton, Heathcliff wouldn’t have control over her unless she is too caring. She tells Edgar there is still more time to get acquainted with his nephew and see if he is a suitable match for Cathy.

Edgar gazes out the window toward the Gimmerton churchyard. It is February, and despite the misty afternoon, the sun shines on the trees and the gravestones in the churchyard. Edgar soliloquies on how he senses death is near, as he pictures himself being buried within a few weeks or months at the Gimmerton churchyard where he married Catherine. He admits he has always been happy with Cathy but is happier visiting his wife's grave and wondering what he would do for his daughter. He doesn’t care that Linton is Heathcliff’s son and how he took him away from him or gained control over her and his home. He decides he will be fine with Cathy marrying Linton if she wishes and would find it even more difficult to leave her alone after he dies. Nelly tells him that even if he dies, she will still be her close friend and counsellor and that people who perform their duties will always be rewarded.

Spring passes and Edgar doesn’t regain any strength, though he is still strong enough to walk around the park with Cathy. She is sure he is recovering whenever she looks at his flushed face and bright eyes. On her 17th birthday, he didn’t visit the churchyard as it was raining. Nelly asks why he won’t go today, and he replies that he will postpone his visit this year. He writes to Linton about his desire for him to visit Thrushcross Grange. Nelly doubts Heathcliff would let his son come over, and when Linton does write back, he reveals his father objects to him visiting the Grange, but he is still delighted by his uncle’s kindness and hopes to see him again when he goes out for his walks. He also hopes both he and Cathy won’t be divided for long. He adds that Heathcliff forbids him from seeing Cathy at her home but requests that Edgar and Cathy see him on the moors. He begs his uncle to write back to him and have their meeting anywhere except the Grange and adds that Cathy excused herself from his faults and tells Edgar he should, too. He insists he is healthier but wonders if he will be more miserable when alone.

While sympathetic to his nephew, Edgar cannot accept him as he cannot accompany Cathy. He hopes that by summer, he will be able to meet him. In the meantime, he wishes he would write frequently and return some advice by letter as comfort for what he is going through. Linton complies with his uncle, but his father always watches over him and makes him read the letters he is writing to Edgar. Instead, he keeps Linton confined from Cathy and only allows him to see Cathy if he fears he is deceiving him. Cathy and Linton persuade Edgar to allow them to ride or walk together on the moors near the Grange while being supervised by Nelly, to which he consents.

By June, Edgar’s health is still failing. Knowing he is dying and has already set aside a portion of his income for his daughter’s fortune, he desires to have her live at Wuthering Heights, and the only way it could be done is by marrying her off to Linton. He is unaware that his nephew is closer to death than he is. Neither a doctor nor anyone visited the Heights to report Linton’s health, but Nelly believes none of this is true and thinks Linton is recovering since he would like to spend more time with Cathy on the moors. She also cannot imagine Heathcliff mistreating his sickly, frail son, mainly because he fears his son will die before he can get what he wants.

Summer is ending again, and Edgar allows Nelly and Cathy to ride out on the moors to meet Linton as long as they stay close to the Grange. It is a humid day with little sunshine and a hazy sky to rain. A meeting place for Linton was arranged at the guidestone by the crossroads. When the women arrive, a shepherd boy informs them that Linton is waiting for them by the Heights. They arrive where he is, about a mile by the front door, and see him without a horse and are forced to dismount. He sits on the ground waiting for them and doesn’t get up until they approach him. He is walking so weakly and looks so pale that Nelly exclaims he looks sick and is not fit to go for a ride.

Cathy examines him and is shocked by his frail appearance, but Linton insists he is improving, holding onto her hand for support. He is worse the last time she saw him and is getting thinner. He claims he feels sick in the morning, and his father says he is growing too fast. Cathy and Linton sit down together, and she reminds him how they agreed they would spend time here. She convinces him they can ride to the Grange next week, and he is more comfortable being at home than outside, as she cannot spend time with him today. She says he has become wiser these past six months, but he seems little interested in her entertaining him. Linton wants her to stay and claims the weather and heat are making him gloomy. He wants her to tell Edgar that he is in good health.

Cathy says she would but can’t declare he is that sick, unaware he’s making her lie to her father. Linton tells her to come next Thursday and wants her to thank Edgar for letting her see him. He also wants her not to inform Heathcliff that he has been acting stupid and quiet, which would make him angry. Cathy says she’s not afraid of Heathcliff when angry, but Linton shudders, saying he is frightened of his father’s anger and begs her not to provoke him. Nelly asks him if Heathcliff is being more harsh and hateful towards him. Linton looks at her but doesn’t answer, but 10 minutes later, he falls asleep. Cathy does berry picking and shares some with Nelly but not with Linton. She then whispers to Nelly that it is half an hour and they should be leaving now that Linton is asleep. Nelly says they shouldn’t leave Linton sleeping there and wait until he wakes up.

Cathy doesn’t understand why Linton wants to see her. She won’t have time to deal with Heathcliff and pities Linton for being sickly, even though she’s glad he is in good health. Nelly asks her if she thinks Linton is healthy, and Cathy says yes, as he always manages to deal with his illnesses. Even if he wants her to lie to Edgar, she’s convinced he is likely better. Nelly thinks he is getting worse when Linton suddenly wakes up and asks if someone called his name. Cathy is confused about why he can sleep outdoors in the morning. Linton thinks he hears his father approaching and asks if nobody said anything. Cathy replies that she and Nelly are just talking about his health, asks him if he is still stronger after they have separated since winter, and convinces him to tell her the truth.

Linton starts crying, says he is still fine, and keeps glancing around nervously. Cathy says she must go now and was disappointed by their meeting today, though she’ll keep this a secret except for him. Linton murmurs her to be quiet as he hears Heathcliff coming and clings onto her arm to stop her from leaving. Cathy releases herself from him and whistles for Minny. She mounts onto her saddle, promises to return next Thursday, and urges Nelly to hurry. The women ride away as Heathcliff approaches Linton.

Before they arrive home, Cathy worries about what is happening to Linton. Nelly assures her that they will get a real sense of him the next time they see Linton. She says Edgar now requests to know where the women have been today. Linton’s word of thanks is passed on to him, with Cathy explaining the rest, and Nelly also joins in but isn’t sure if she would tell the truth or keep their visit a secret.

### Edgar’s Death/Heathcliff claims Thrushcross Grange

A week goes by, and Edgar’s health turns for the worse. Cathy doesn’t want to leave her father alone and dreads the possibility that she could lose him soon. She doesn’t remember her ride for Thursday, so when that day comes, Nelly mentions it to her and receives permission to take her out.

Cathy would spend some of her time in the library, where Edgar would drop in briefly, and then she would sit by her father’s bedside. Edgar dismisses his daughter from his bedchamber because he wants her to spend time in a new place and hopes she won’t be alone after his death. He also thinks Linton resembles him a lot in character from his letters. Nelly decides not to inform him about Linton’s failing health as it would upset him during his final moments.

Nelly and Cathy don’t go out onto the moors until the afternoon. It is a bright, sunny day in August as they set out. They spot Linton at their designated meeting spot, and Cathy tells her to stay behind with the pony on horseback as she would stay for a while. But Nelly disagrees as she doesn’t want to leave her alone for a minute. Both women climb up the slope together, and when they meet Linton, he is dreaded with fear. He says they are late and asks Cathy if her father is ill. She asks him why he would say he doesn’t want her right away, and this was the second time in a row he lured her out on purpose. She explains that her father is ill and should have broken his promise if he can’t keep it. She demands an explanation, and he grabs her dress, murmuring not to get angry at him, and begs her to spare him from contempt. Cathy demands him to let go of her as she prepares to return home and wants Nelly to tell him what a disgrace he really is.

Linton throws himself onto the ground and cries in fear. He begs her not to leave him as he will be killed. Cathy helps him with a look of alarm and urges him to tell her the truth. But Linton is afraid of his father and cannot tell her why. Cathy says he can keep his secret as she’s still not scared of Heathcliff. He cries wildly but still cannot speak out. Nelly is curious about what he is hiding and won’t want Cathy to suffer to benefit him. Hearing a rustle, she looks up to see Heathcliff approaching them. He doesn’t glance at Linton and Cathy, though his son’s cries can still be heard, and instead pulls Nelly aside to talk to her. He says he has heard the rumour that Edgar’s health is failing and that his illness was exaggerated. Nelly explains that her master is dying, which is a blessing to him but sorrow for everyone else.

Heathcliff asks how long he will live, and Nelly doesn’t know. Heathcliff gazes at the young couple and believes Edgar is beating him and appreciates him dying first before Linton. Nelly says Edgar is in distress and would rather be in bed tended to by a doctor than spend time with his daughter on the moors. Heathcliff mutters that he will die within a day or two and orders Linton to get up. Linton fearfully sinks to the ground from his father’s glance and attempts to get up. Heathcliff lifts him and angrily demands him to obey him, and Linton promises he will abide by him and begs Cathy to take his hand.

Heathcliff orders Cathy to walk Linton back to Wuthering Heights. She says she can’t go to the Heights because her father forbids her and asks Linton why he is so afraid. He says he cannot return to the house without her, and Heathcliff demands him to stop. He orders Nelly to take Linton back home, and he will follow her advice to the doctor. Nelly says he will do well, but she must remain with Cathy, and it’s not her business to tend to Linton.

Linton clings to Cathy and begs her to come with him. Nelly disapproves that she can’t make Cathy obey her and won’t refuse Linton. She isn’t sure what is wrong with him, but she follows Heathcliff, Linton, and Cathy back to Wuthering Heights. After reaching the threshold, Cathy walks inside, and Nelly waits outside until Linton is placed into a chair. She expects Cathy to return with her immediately when Heathcliff shoves her inside and orders her to sit down. He shuts the door and locks it. He informs Nelly she will have tea before she leaves, as he is alone. Hareton is at Lees with the cattle, and Zillah and Joseph are on a trip. He prefers to have company when he is alone most of the time and orders Cathy to sit beside Linton. He also declares he hates the young couple.

Cathy says she isn’t afraid of him and demands that he give her the key. He is surprised when she tries to wrestle the key out of his hand and almost succeeds when he recovers it and demands her to stand off, or he will beat her, making Nelly angry. Cathy ignores his warning and wrestles for the key again. She bites his hand, and he glances at Nelly whenever she interferes. He then suddenly grabs Cathy and hits her on the head. Nelly furiously calls him a villain and charges at him, but he punches her in the chest, which causes her to stagger back dizzily and struggle to breathe. Cathy places her hands on her temple in two minutes and leans against the table, trembling.

Heathcliff orders Cathy to go to Linton and cry at her ease. He will be her father for a few days and threatens to beat her if he catches her losing her temper again. Cathy instead runs to Nelly, kneeling and crying on her lap. Linton shrinks quietly in the corner of the settle, congratulating himself that someone else took the beating instead of him. Seeing how startled everyone is, Heathcliff makes the tea himself and lays out the cups and saucers. He pours one and gives it to Nelly, telling her to get over her anger and tend to Cathy and Linton while he finds their horses.

After Heathcliff leaves, Nelly and Cathy try to find another way out. They try the kitchen door, locked from the outside, and the windows are too narrow for Cathy to fit through. Knowing they are being held hostage by Heathcliff, Nelly and Cathy demand that Linton reveal his father’s intentions. Linton says he will tell them after he is given some tea.

Nelly is disgusted that Linton doesn’t fear for himself and how his behaviour on the moors abruptly changed when they went to Wuthering Heights, and he seems likely to be part of a dangerous scheme. After sipping his tea, Linton reveals that his father wants him and Cathy to be married, and he knows Edgar won’t let them be married. He also fears Linton dying early, and they will marry tomorrow morning. Cathy will spend the night with him at the Heights afterwards, and Heathcliff will let her go home to the Grange and take Linton with her.

Nelly is outraged that Linton is being forced to marry Cathy. She thinks Heathcliff has gone mad that he’s making Cathy, a healthy, lively girl, marry a sickly, whiny boy, and Linton manipulated them into coming to the Heights. She shakes Linton, making him cough, and then he cries. Cathy looks around and says she must escape. But Linton tearfully begs her not to leave him and disobey his father. She says she must obey her own father as he will be distressed if she stays here overnight. She will find a way out of the house and assure him he’s not in danger and that she loves her father more than him. He trembles at his father’s rage, and she persists that she must go home and persuades him to stop being selfish.

Heathcliff returns and orders Linton to go to bed, and he will be more controlling over Cathy within a month. He also tells him to undress as Zillah isn’t here, and he won’t bother him once he is in his room. He opens the door for Linton, and as soon as he walks in, he shuts the door and locks it. Nelly and Cathy stand in silence as Heathcliff approaches the fireplace. Cathy looks up, and Heathcliff asks if she is afraid of him. She replies she is now, as Edgar will be miserable if she stays, and begs Heathcliff to let her go. She also promises to marry Linton as her father encourages her to.

Heathcliff orders them to be silent and says he will be satisfied with Edgar’s suffering. He expects them to stay at Wuthering Heights for the night and will not release them until his goal is fulfilled. Cathy tearfully begs him to let Nelly go so she can inform her father that she is safe or she can be married now. She tells Nelly what they will do now, as Edgar will think they are lost. He says Edgar’s happiest days ended when Cathy was born, and he cursed her for being born and would do the same again in death. He wants her to be diverted from attending to her father unless Linton makes amends. He admits he was satisfied with his son’s letters, and the last one he wrote said he wanted his father to be kind and gentle to Cathy when she married him. He claims Linton only cares about himself, and she can talk about Heathcliff’s kindness to her father after she returns home. Nelly tells him he is right to explain his son’s inner self and wants him to show him his resemblance so Cathy will think twice before falling into their trap.

Heathcliff replies that Cathy must stay with Linton or remain a prisoner with Nelly until Edgar’s death. He will keep them detained here, and if Nelly resists, she can persuade Cathy to change her mind. But Cathy decides to marry Linton within the hour if she can return to Thrushcross Grange. She calls Heathcliff a cruel man, but she will not let him ruin her happiness and doesn’t know if she will be able to live if she leaves her father on purpose and dies before she sees him again. She even asks him if he loved anyone in his life. Heathcliff orders her to move says he detests her, and sits in his chair.

Nelly is about to speak furiously with him but knows that by doing so, she will be kept in another room. It is now getting dark, and she hears voices at the garden gate. Heathcliff hurries outside, and after a few minutes, he returns. Nelly observes Cathy. She thought it was her cousin Hareton and wished he would arrive to take their part. Heathcliff overhears her and informs her he has just spoken to three servants from the Grange, who have been sent to seek her. He admits she could have opened the window to call them but is relieved she didn’t and would be glad to stay.

Nelly and Cathy are devastated from missing their chance to escape and cry until 9 o’clock. Heathcliff bids them go upstairs through the kitchen and into Zillah’s bedchamber. Nelly whispers to Cathy to obey, as they may have another chance to escape from the window or the garret. However, the window is also narrow, and the garret is fastened from them to flee. In their room, Cathy sits by the window and waits anxiously for the morning. Nelly signs as an answer to convincing Cathy to rest and sits in a chair, contemplating her employer’s misfortunes and Heathcliff's.

At 7 o’clock the following morning, Heathcliff asks behind the door if Cathy is awake. Cathy rushes to the door and answers him. He opens the door and pulls her out. Nelly gets up to follow her, but Heathcliff locks the door again. She demands that he release her and tells her to be patient and that he will send her breakfast later. She angrily shakes the door latch, and Cathy asks why Nelly is locked up. Heathcliff replies that she will handle it for another hour, and they leave. Nelly is locked in for 2-3 hours until she hears footsteps, but it isn’t Heathcliff. A voice orders her to open the door as he brings her food. She opens the door to see Hareton with a tray of enough food for her for a day. He thrusts the tray into Nelly’s hand, and she tells him to stay for a minute. He refuses and leaves, despite her prayers to have him stay. She is confined inside the room for four days and five nights and only sees Hareton every morning, who holds her captive daily.

On the fifth day, Nelly hears light footsteps approaching. This time, Zillah enters, wearing her shawl and silk bonnet and holding a willow basket. Zillah tells her there is talk about her in Gimmerton, and she thought she had sunk in the Blackhorse marsh along with Cathy until Heathcliff told her she was alive and held hostage at Wuthering Heights. She asks how long she has been kept here and if her master saved her. Nelly replies that Heathcliff is a scoundrel, but he will answer for it and shouldn’t have spread that story to the locals. Zillah says that the story has been spread to the locals on how Nelly had been lost in the marshes, and Zillah calls for Hareton and tells him the rumour about Nelly being lost. But he says Nelly is locked in her room and gives her the key. She would have quickly returned to the Grange, and he fixed her until she overcame her senses from losing her mind about the bog water. He also informed her to bid Nelly to go to the Grange and have her convey to him that Cathy would attend a funeral in time.

Nelly gasps and asks if Edgar is dead, and Zillah tells her to sit and calm down as she is still sickly. She says Edgar isn’t dead yet, and Doctor Kenneth tells her he might last for another day after meeting him on the road. Instead of sitting down, Nelly gathers her outdoor things and goes downstairs, hoping to find someone to tell her about Cathy. The house is filled with sunshine, and the door is wide open, but nobody is around. While deciding whether to leave or search for Cathy, she hears a cough and sees Linton lying on the hearth, sucking on a sugar candy stick. She asks where Cathy is, hoping her scolding will make him talk. But he sits there and sucks on his candy innocently.

Linton then replies that she is upstairs and won’t let her leave. Nelly orders him to show him to Cathy’s room, or she will make him. He says Heathcliff will do the same thing if she tries to find her room, and he is not supposed to be soft with her. Cathy is now his wife, but she hates him and wants him to die so she can take his money. But he will not let Cathy have his money or go home. Nelly reminds him about Cathy’s kindness this past winter when he loved her, and she did everything with him and came many times through the snow and wind to see him. She cried the night she couldn’t visit him because she was worried he would be disappointed. She also reminds him of how he is fond of her kindness, but now he believes in his father’s lies, even though he hates them both, and he and his father are turning against Cathy. She asks him if this is his gratitude, and he should think about himself if Cathy came to Wuthering Heights because she hated him. Cathy also doesn’t know that he will have any money left, and despite her saying he is sick, he leaves her alone in a strange house. She chastises him for knowing what it’s like being neglected, and he doesn’t pity Cathy’s feelings; she is upset that he pretended to be caring, but he is a selfish, cruel boy.

Linton crossly replies that he cannot be alone with Cathy as he can’t stand her crying. Once, he called his father and threatened to strangle her if she won’t stop. She cried again as soon as Heathcliff left, and he complained he couldn’t sleep. Nelly asks him if Heathcliff is out and perceives he doesn’t sympathize with Cathy. Linton explains he is in the courtyard talking with Doctor Kenneth, who says Edgar is dying, and Linton is relieved he will inherit the Grange. Cathy always says it is her house, but he claims it is his now and all her belongings to him. Yesterday, she had offered to give him everything as a bribe to let her escape. He told her she had nothing to give him, and she tearfully wanted to provide him with her locket, which contained the engraved portraits of her parents. He says the locket was his, too, and he tried to get it from her. She fended him off by pushing him. He cried out loud, and she heard Heathcliff coming, so she broke the locket apart and gave him her mother’s portrait. Heathcliff took the one Linton had and ordered Cathy to give up hers to him. When she refused, he ripped it off the chain and stomped on it with his foot.

She asks him if he is delighted to watch Cathy get struck. He says he was initially glad Cathy was punished for pushing him. But after Heathcliff left, Cathy showed him her cheek cut on the inside and her mouth filled with blood. She then took the remains of the broken locket and sat facing the wall and hadn’t spoken to him since. He thought she was being naughty for constantly crying and was afraid of her pale, wild appearance. Nelly asks him if he can find the key, and he can when he goes upstairs, but he can’t go now. She asks what room it is, and he refuses to tell her as it’s a secret. Nobody, including Hareton or Zillah, knows where it is and demands Nelly leave as he’s tired of her.

Nelly decides to leave Wuthering Heights without seeing Heathcliff and find someone from Thrushcross Grange to rescue Cathy. When she arrives, the servants are relieved and overjoyed to see her again. When they learn Cathy is safe, a couple of them are about to go upstairs to break the news to Edgar, but Nelly will make the announcement herself. Edgar is miserable and depressed as he approaches his final moments. He murmurs Cathy’s name, and Nelly touches his hand, whispering that Cathy is alive and safe, and she will be coming home soon and hopes she will be back tonight. She trembles as he gets up, looks around eagerly and sinks back. After he recovers, Nelly lies to him about her and Cathy’s visit to Wuthering Heights and is held hostage by Heathcliff, who forces her into the house, but it isn’t true. She says very little about Linton as possible and Heathcliff’s mistreatment, and she doesn’t want Edgar to be more bitter. Edgar assumes Heathcliff is planning to secure his property and estate for his son or himself. He is puzzled why he didn’t wait until the end of his life but decides to change his will. He will have Cathy’s fortunes secured by her trustees, and the money will be useful to her and any children she has. He hopes Heathcliff won’t inherit the money if Linton dies.

Nelly dispatches a servant to bring back an attorney, and four more armed with weapons are sent to demand Cathy’s release. They are out late, and the lone servant returns first. He explains that the lawyer, Mr. Green, was absent when he got to his house and had to wait two hours for his return. When Mr. Green arrived, he said he had to do business in the village but would be at the Grange before morning. The four servants return without Cathy, explaining she was too sick to leave her room, and Heathcliff refused to let them see her. Nelly scolds them for listening to Heathcliff, and she won’t pass on the news to Edgar. She decides to go to the Heights herself, free Cathy and vows she will see her father again.

At 3 o’clock, Nelly goes downstairs to fetch a jug of water and walks down the hall with it when she hears a knock on the door that surprises her. She assumes it is Mr. Green and will let someone else open the door. But the knocking continues, so she opens the door herself. It is Cathy who embraces her and asks if her father is alive. She replies that he is and is relieved she is alright. She wants to run upstairs to be with her father, but Nelly has her sit down and drink some water while she washes her face. Then she promises she will inform Edgar of his daughter’s arrival and asks her to say she should be happy with Linton, and after she tells her to say this false news, she would assure him she won’t complain.

When Cathy meets her father again, Nelly doesn’t join them, so she stands outside their door for a quarter of an hour and hardly ventures near them. Cathy sits by Edgar’s side while he is overjoyed that she is with him again. He kisses her cheek and murmurs that he is going to her mother, and she will join them someday. He never speaks or stirs again and dies shortly afterwards.

Cathy sits by Edgar’s bedside until morning and stays there until noon. Nelly insists she should leave him and get some rest. Cathy obeys, and at dinner, Mr. Green arrives from the Heights. He was bribed by Heathcliff, which explains why he showed up late. He dismisses all the Grange servants, except Nelly, and requests Edgar to be buried in the family vault instead of the kirkyard next to his wife. Nelly protests these changes, as they will hinder all of this. The funeral is quickly arranged, and Cathy is permitted at the Grange until her father’s corpse is removed. He is then buried next to Catherine in the kirkyard.

Cathy then explains to Nelly how she finally let Linton help her escape. She heard the Grange servants arguing at the door and was desperate by Heathcliff’s answer. Linton, who was in the parlour after Nelly left, was scared to fetch the key before Heathcliff returned. He unlocked and locked her door without closing it, and when he was supposed to go to bed, he wanted to sleep with Hareton. Before daybreak, Cathy snuck out of her room. She didn’t dare try the doors in case she alerted the dogs. Instead, she visited the empty rooms and examined their windows. She found a window in her mother’s room that she could fit through and climbed to the ground from a fir tree.

The evening after Edgar’s funeral, Nelly and Cathy sit in the library, lamenting their loss and suggesting an uncertain future. They agree that Cathy can still live at the Grange with Linton, and Nelly will be the housekeeper. Nelly is hopeful she will still have her home, job and mistress when a servant, who has been dismissed but is still at the Grange, hurries into the library and informs her Heathcliff is coming through the courtyard. Nelly knows Heathcliff now owns the Grange, and the servant brings him into the library and leaves.

Nelly remembers him being ushered into the library as a guest 18 years ago, with the shining moonlight and autumn landscape being the same. The room is still visible with the portraits of Catherine and Edgar, even without a lit candle. Heathcliff walks to the hearth, and his dark appearance has slightly changed. When she sees him, Cathy prepares to run out, and he grabs her arm. He informs her she has nowhere to go, and he has come to bring her back to Wuthering Heights. He hopes she will be more dutiful and he’ll prevent Linton from disobeying him again. He admits he was embarrassed about how he would punish him when he discovered his involvement in Cathy’s escape. He says he brought him downstairs in his chair the day before but didn’t touch him afterwards. He sent Hareton out and was on his own with his son. Two hours later, he called Joseph to carry Linton back to his room, and he sensed his son feared him in his presence. Linton would scream and call for Cathy at night to protect him, and Heathcliff says she must return with him to tend to him.

Nelly pleads to Heathcliff to let Cathy stay at the Grange and send Linton to live here instead, as he surely won’t miss them when they live here. He replies that he is seeking tenants for the Grange and wants the couple to stay with him. He also says Cathy will need to work for her bread and orders Cathy to get ready to leave with him.

Cathy agrees to go with him as Linton is all she has left, and no matter how hateful she is to him, she tells Heathcliff he cannot make her and Linton hate each other and dares him to hurt Linton when she’s with him. He replies that he doesn’t hate her enough to hurt him, but she will handle the torment for as long as it lasts. Linton had been so bitter during her absence and even drew a picture to Zillah of what he would have looked like if he was stronger. Cathy says Linton may misbehave, but she knows they still love each other. She tells Heathcliff he has nobody to love him, and even if he makes their lives miserable, they will still have their revenge, thinking his cruelty is from his misery. She even asks him if he’s lonely and miserable. Nelly notices she spoke so triumphantly that she has decided to live with her future family. Heathcliff tells her she will be sorry if she stays there for another minute and again orders her to pack her things.

Cathy leaves, and Nelly begs Heathcliff to have Zillah’s place at Wuthering Heights and would even resign her own position in return. He refuses her offers and bids her to be quiet. He glances around and looks at Catherine’s portrait, saying he will have the Grange, not just for him to live in. He then turns to the fire and tells Nelly he made the sexton dig up Catherine’s grave. He opened her coffin and saw she was still the same. He broke a side of her coffin opposite Edgar’s. Then he bribed the sexton to have him buried next to Catherine with the side of his coffin removed next to hers.

Nelly calls him wicked and asks if he’s not ashamed of disturbing the dead. Heathcliff replies that he hasn’t disturbed anyone, and he expects her to have the chance to bury him after his death. He laments that Catherine has disturbed him every day for the past 18 years, and he dreamt he was sleeping for the last time next to her. Nelly asks him what he would have dreamt of if Catherine’s body had turned into dust.

Heathcliff replies that he dreams of decaying and being happy with her in death. He expected her body to be decomposed when he opened her coffin lid, but her body was still intact. He admits he has been unstable since Catherine died and prayed every day for her to return to him in spirit, and he has a strong belief in ghosts. The day Catherine was interred, it started to snow. He went to the churchyard during the evening, and when he was alone, he declared he would have Catherine in his arms again. He brought a shovel and dug her grave until her coffin was visible. He was about to open the lid when he heard a sigh from above. He muttered that if he opened her coffin, they would shovel more earth over them. He tried to open it again and heard the same sigh close to his ear. He knew nobody else was nearby but felt she was not in her coffin but above the ground. After sensing her presence was with him, he refilled her grave and returned home. When he arrived at the Heights, he saw the front door was locked, and Hindley and Isabella were inside. He remembered that after he fought Hindley, he ran upstairs to his room and felt she was still with him and tormenting him just like he wanted. He believed her spirit lingered close by whenever he was outside or in the house. He could see her outside his window or in the room whenever he tried to sleep. But when he woke up, she wasn't there and would groan in disappointment until Joseph was alarmed that something was wrong with him.

Heathcliff pauses with his eyes fixed on the fire with a troubled expression. He half addresses Nelly, but she is quiet and hates hearing him talk. Afterwards, he takes down Catherine’s portrait and places it on the sofa to view it as a better advantage. At that moment, Cathy enters and announces she is ready when her pony is saddled. Heathcliff instructs Nelly to send the pony to Wuthering Heights tomorrow, then turns to Cathy and tells her she will walk there without her pony as it is a lovely evening. Whenever she wants to go somewhere, she has to travel on foot.

Cathy says goodbye quietly to Nelly and kisses her, reminding her not to forget to visit her. Heathcliff orders Nelly never to visit her at the Heights, and he will only speak to her at the Grange. He then orders Cathy to come with him, and after a final glance at Nelly, she obeys him, and they leave the Grange.

Nelly does visit Wuthering Heights but hasn't seen Cathy since leaving the Grange. Joseph will block the door when she asks about Cathy and refuses to let her in. Zillah informs Nelly about the Heights residents so she’ll know who is dead or alive. Zillah claims Cathy is arrogant and doesn't like her, but when she first arrived, she asked for help. Heathcliff told her to mind her own business and that she had to look after herself. At the Heights, the other residents neglected her.

One day, Nelly meets Zillah on the moors, and they have a long conversation about what happened at Wuthering Heights. She explains that as soon as Cathy arrived at the house, she stayed in Linton's room until morning, and when Heathcliff and Hareton were at breakfast, she came in and asked if they had sent for a doctor, as Linton was very sick. Heathcliff said he wouldn't spend a penny on him, and Cathy said she didn't know what to do and that he would die if nobody helped her. Heathcliff ordered her to leave and not talk about his son again. He said nobody here cared about him, and he would have to nurse him herself, or she would lock him up and leave him alone. She begged Zillah to help her, but she, too, refused to help her.

Linton was always suffering, and Cathy barely slept. She would come into the kitchen bewildered, and when she was about to ask for help, Zillah knew she didn't dare disobey her employer. She knew it was wrong not to contact Doctor Kenneth, but it was not her concern to complain. She would open her door and cry on the stairs when they went to bed. Zillah would then lock her door if she was about to interfere but admits she does pity her. Then, one night, Cathy came into her room and told her to inform Heathcliff that his son was dying. Nothing had stirred, and the house was silent. She thought Heathcliff had got over it and fell asleep but was awakened again by a ringing bell for Linton. Heathcliff called her to see what was wrong and inform them not to ring the bell again.

She brought Catherine's message to Heathcliff. He cursed himself, and a few minutes later, he went to their room with a lit candle, and she followed him. Cathy was seated by Linton's bedside with folded hands on her knees. Heathcliff came in, lit the candlelight on Linton's face and touched him, but he was now dead. Then he turned to Cathy and asked her how she felt. She didn't reply, and when he asked a second time, she replied that she was finally relieved to be free from nursing Linton, but since she was forced to look after him alone, she felt and saw only death. Zillah gave her some wine, and Hareton and Joseph came in after being awakened by the ringing bell and hearing them talk. Joseph looked pleased about Linton's death, and Hareton was bothered while staring at Cathy. Heathcliff ordered them back to bed and demanded Joseph remove Linton's body, leaving Cathy alone.

The next day, Heathcliff sent Zillah to summon Cathy to breakfast, who was exhausted and unwell, but she should be left alone until after the funeral. Zillah would see her now and then to ask what she needed, and then she would remind him when she was well again.

Cathy stayed in her room for a fortnight, and Zillah visited her twice daily, but she barely treated her properly. Heathcliff saw her once to show Linton's will. Both Linton and Cathy's property are left to him. While she was tending to her dying father for a week, he threatened and coaxed Linton into giving him his fortune. He was too young to own the house, and Heathcliff now claimed and kept them. Zillah knew Cathy wouldn't take Heathcliff's possession after being stripped of her fortune and friends.

Zillah explains that nobody approached Cathy or asked anything about her except that Heathcliff once saw her. She first came out on a Sunday afternoon and cried when Zillah brought her dinner. She lamented she couldn't bear being in the cold, and Zillah told her Heathcliff was going to the Grange, and she and Hareton would allow her to leave her room. As soon as Heathcliff left, Cathy descended wearing black clothes and her curls combed back.

Nelly and Joseph go to church on Sundays, but the Kirk has no minister, and they call for the Methodists at the Gimmerton chapel. She had reminded Hareton to sit with her and Cathy at the church. As Nelly had noticed, he would take time off from tending to his work when she stayed and looked like he would be tidier and offer her company.

Zillah interrupts her and says Cathy is too poor to be a suitable match for Hareton. He had allowed Zillah to support him in having a good mood. When Cathy came, he tried to impress himself. Zillah offered her seat to Cathy, but she refused. Hareton summoned her to the settle, where Cathy said she was starved for months. She took her own chair and placed it at a distance from Hareton and Zillah, but when she saw books on the dresser, she got up and reached for them. Since they were too high, Hareton ended up helping her. He was gratified that he finally got to help her, but Cathy never thanked him. She sat down to read, and Hareton became interested in her books, evening pointing out some pictures he saw on the pages. He also became interested in her blonde curls, and while she wasn't looking, he stroked one of her curls. Cathy got up and scolded him for touching her hair, and she'd go upstairs if he touched her again. He sat quietly when she continued to read for half an hour.

Hareton then wanted Cathy to read to them, and he enjoyed listening to her talk. But Cathy told them she hated them, refused their kindness, and would never complain. Hareton asked what he had done to upset her, and she replied that she was never concerned about him and would rather go anywhere than be with him. He returned to his work instead of having free time on Sundays.

Hareton still wanted to befriend Cathy, but she refused to be in his presence and was forced to spend time with them frequently. She was still unloved and neglected by Hareton, Zillah and Heathcliff, and she didn’t talk to them. She would snap at Heathcliff, and he would beat her, which caused her hatred to grow.

After hearing this, Nelly is determined to leave her position, move into a cottage and convince Cathy to live with her. Heathcliff refuses to let Cathy leave until Hareton can live independently, and Nelly knows this won't be possible unless Cathy marries again.

### Nelly and Mr. Lockwood

Six weeks after Linton's death and Cathy moved to Wuthering Heights, a gentleman named Mr. Lockwood from London stays as a tenant at Thrushcross Grange. At the Heights, he met Heathcliff, Hareton and Cathy, who treated him coldly.One night, he gets snowed in at the Heights and is forced to spend the night there. After having a nightmare where Catherine's ghost confronted him, Lockwood returned to the Grange alone and isolated himself in his room.[3]

Nelly brings in Mr. Lockwood's supper while he is resting one evening. He is also lonely after confining himself and decides he wants to talk with her for a while. He asks her how long she has lived here, and she replies that she had lived here for 18 years when Catherine Earnshaw got married and was assigned as her housekeeper. Mr. Lockwood remarks if she has seen any changes, and she replies that she has seen changes and troubles for so long. He decides he wants to learn about Heathcliff's background and questions her why he doesn't live at Thrushcross Grange, even wondering if he's not rich enough to keep it. Nelly explains that he is wealthy enough to live in a more luxurious house than the Grange and remarks that he could return when he finds out a tenant is staying there.

Mr. Lockwood questions her about the young people he met at Wuthering Heights earlier. Nelly explains that Heathcliff had a son who was dead, and Cathy was his wife. She also explains that Cathy is her late master's daughter, and Linton is her maiden name. She had looked after her and wished Heathcliff would let them live together again. Mr. Lockwood next asks about Hareton, and Nelly tells him he is her late mistress' nephew and Cathy's cousin. Her husband was also his cousin, and Heathcliff married Mr. Linton's sister, Isabella. Mr. Lockwood asks about the name "Earnshaw" carved above the front door and if they are an old family. Nelly mentions that the Earnshaws are an ancient family, and Hareton is their last living descendant. She asks Mr. Lockwood if he has been to Wuthering Heights and asks how Cathy is doing. He replies that she is well but unhappy. Then she asks what he thinks about Heathcliff, and he says he is a rough fellow. Nelly admits that is his personality.

Mr. Lockwood is curious about Heathcliff’s background and asks Nelly if she knows anything about it. She replies that she knows everything about him except where he was born, where his parents were, and where he got his wealth. Lockwood convinces her to stay up with him for an hour and tell him the story of the residents of Wuthering Heights. Nelly agrees and will first fetch her sewing kit and serve him some gruel.

Nelly leaves briefly as Lockwood sits by the fire. She returns shortly with his gruel and her sewing basket. While taking her seat, she narrates how Heathcliff came to Wuthering Heights and his early romantic relationship with Catherine Earnshaw. When she gets to the part where Heathcliff vows revenge on Hindley Earnshaw, she pauses her story and puts aside her sewing. Lockwood urges her to keep going as he finds the story interesting so far. She replies that it is almost 11 o’clock, and he says he usually goes to bed late, until 10 o’clock in the morning. She reminds him he shouldn’t sleep in that late and says that when someone doesn’t do their half work before ten, they will leave the other half unfinished. He insists she returns to her seat and continues her story.

Nelly is about to narrate her story that skips ahead three years, but Lockwood interrupts her and asks her if her mood eases when she watches a mother cat with her kitten before her. She replies that she would be in a lazy mood. Lockwood discusses how some people learn from others in different regions and live earnestly with themselves. She is confused by his speech, and he says he speculates that she is more thoughtful than a servant and would lead others to believe her. She laughs and says she has esteem, not just from living in the moors and witnessing different people’s lives and actions. She has become wiser from discipline and can read any books that are in French, Latin or Greek. She decides she will narrate where she has left off, and instead of skipping three years, she continues her story in the summer of 1778, which was 23 years ago, and narrates the part of her story when Catherine marries Edgar, and Heathcliff runs away. Afterwards, she glances at the clock, realizes it is half past one and goes to bed.

For four weeks, Mr. Lockwood falls ill, and Heathcliff visits him.He is also determined to hear the rest of Nelly’s story and summons her with a ringing bell. She tells him he needs twenty minutes to take his medicine, but he refuses treatment and wants her to continue her story after the part when Heathcliff disappears from Wuthering Heights. He also asks how Heathcliff received his wealth, and she replies again that she doesn’t know. She asks Lockwood if he’s feeling better and says he is.

Nelly narrates the rest of the story, from Heathcliff’s return and Catherine’s death to Cathy, Linton, and Hareton’s stories. When she gets to the part where Cathy secretly corresponds and visits Linton, Nelly pauses her story and informs Lockwood that these events occurred this past winter.She admits she has no idea she will narrate her tale to a stranger a year later and asks Lockwood why he looks so interested when she talks about Cathy and if he loves her. He replies that he might love her but isn’t sure if she will love him back.

Nelly narrates the rest of the story leading up to the present. When she finishes, Lockwood has regained his strength and decides to go to Wuthering Heights to inform Heathcliff he’s ending his tenancy and returning to London. Before he leaves, Nelly gives him a note to give to Cathy, and after a brief visit at the Heights, Lockwood leaves Yorkshire.

### Cathy and Hareton’s Relationship/ Heathcliff’s Final Days

A fortnight after Mr. Lockwood returns to London, Zillah leaves Wuthering Heights, and Heathcliff asks Nelly to take her place. She cheerfully obeys for Cathy’s sake, and when she gets to talk with Cathy again, she expresses everything that has happened while she is away. She makes the parlour her sitting room to accompany Cathy, and this would allow Heathcliff to see her a few times a day. Cathy enjoys this new arrangement, and Nelly spends much time reading books with her and assuring her they will be comfortable.

Cathy is comfortable at first but later becomes restless. She isn’t allowed to go out in the garden and is depressed to be kept inside as spring passes. Nelly is forced to leave her frequently, and Cathy complains of loneliness. She prefers fighting with Joseph and sitting alone. Nelly doesn’t mind them quarrelling, but Hareton is forced into the kitchen when Heathcliff wants the whole house to himself. Cathy initially ignores Heathcliff, but after a while, she talks to him by expressing his foolishness and the miserable life he’s living. She observes to Nelly that Heathcliff mostly works, eats and sleeps.

Nelly warns Cathy that Hareton will have the master sent to her room if she doesn’t behave. Cathy claims Hareton never talks to her because he’s afraid she’ll laugh at him. Once, he tried to teach himself to read, and when she mocked him, he burned the books and didn’t try them again. Nelly asks if she has been mean to him, and she replies that she wasn’t expecting him to be foolish. She wants to give a book to Hareton, but he tosses it away, muttering he’ll break her neck if she doesn’t stop bothering him. She places it in a drawer and, before going to bed, asks Nelly to watch him if he takes the book.

Hareton never takes the book, and Nelly informs Cathy the next day. She notices she’s sorry for his sulky indolence and stops trying to improve him. While Nelly was doing some chores, such as ironing, Cathy read aloud to her. When Hareton is around, Cathy pauses her reading and leaves the book, lying about what she did multiple times. But instead of taking the bait, he smokes with Joseph by the fire. In the evenings, Hareton goes hunting and teases Nelly to talk to Cathy before he leaves.

In March, Hareton accidentally injuries himself while hunting, when his gun burst and splintered his arm. As a result, he spends his time alone at the fireside, which delights Cathy as she would try and be closer to him. On Easter Monday, when Joseph went to the Gimmerton fair with the cattle and Nelly hangs up some linen in the kitchen, Hareton sits alone in the corner. Cathy tries to cheer him up by drawing pictures on the window and singing to him. She then tells him that she wants to be friends with him, but Hareton demands her to leave him alone. Nelly tells Hareton he should get along with Cathy and be her companion. Hareton says she hates him, and Cathy weeps that he hates her more like Heathcliff. Hareton says she took her part by despising him, and she replies she had been mean to everyone and begs him to forgive her. After some time, Cathy kisses him and tells Nelly she wants to befriend him. Nelly isn’t sure if the kiss moves Hareton, but he looks puzzled when he raises his head. Cathy wraps a book and asks Nelly to give it to Hareton, saying she will teach him to read if he takes it or not, and she won’t tease him again.

Nelly carries the book and anxiously repeats the message to Hareton. She places it on his knee when he doesn’t take it, but he doesn’t toss it away. She returns to her work, and Cathy lays her head on the table until he starts to unwrap the book. She sits by him, and his harshness disappears, but he is afraid to speak. Finally, she murmurs to him to forgive her and asks if he will be her friend. He says she will be ashamed of him. Nelly doesn’t hear more of their conversation, but they are reading the book together when she looks at them again.

Hareton and Cathy read the book until Joseph returns home. He is shocked to see them together and orders Hareton to take them to the master and stay there. He goes to his room and thinks the house is no longer decent for them. Nelly decides they should also retire for the night and asks Cathy if she’s ready for bed. She replies that it isn’t 8 o’clock yet and tells Hareton she will leave the book on the mantlepiece and bring in more tomorrow. Joseph threatens to take the books away, and she may not see them again. She threatens that his library should be hers, too, and after smiling at Hareton, she goes to bed. Nelly notices Cathy hasn’t been so cheerful since she visited Linton.

The following Monday, Hareton’s injuries keep him in the house, and Nelly finds it impossible to keep Cathy closer to her. Cathy finds Hareton outside in the garden, and when Nelly calls them in for breakfast, she sees Cathy is persuading him to clear a large amount of space on the ground to plant currant and gooseberry bushes. They spend all their time working in their garden.

Nelly is horrified when she sees Cathy planning to make a flower bed around Joseph’s currant trees. She warns them that their garden will be shown to Heathcliff once it’s discovered and asks what excuse they have for changing it. Hareton replies he’s forgotten the trees belong to Joseph, and he’ll tell him he did it.

Everyone usually has their meals with Heathcliff, and Nelly makes the tea. Cathy mostly sits beside her at the table, but today, she sits with Hareton. She reminds her not to talk to Hareton or be with him too much as it will anger and annoy Heathcliff. Cathy says she won’t, but a minute later, she is sticking primrose in his porridge with him. He barely looks or talks to her, but she keeps teasing him until he is about to laugh.

Cathy glances at Heathcliff, who is busy with himself. Hareton starts laughing, and Heathcliff yells at them for looking at him and laughing. The young couple moves apart at the table when the meal is finished. Joseph comes in and angrily complains that his garden is ruined, and he cannot get used to new changes. Heathcliff says he won’t tolerate quarrels between him and Nelly and won’t care if she dismisses him.

Joseph says it isn’t Nelly, but Cathy ruined his garden, and Hareton is helping her, too. Heathcliff asks Hareton if he’s involved in this, and he replies that he pulled up a few bushes but will put them back. Heathcliff asks why he did this, and Cathy replies that they are planting some flowers, and she is the one to blame, as he shouldn’t allow her any piece of land to decorate after he seized her home and money. Heathcliff calls her a slut and orders her to leave. She reminds him that he also took Hareton’s land and money. They are also friends now.

Heathcliff looks at her hatefully. Cathy threatens Heathcliff that Hareton will strike him if he hurts her. Heathcliff scolds her for letting Hareton turn against him. He threatens Nelly that he’ll kill Cathy if she is in his sight again, and Cathy tells him that Hareton will stop taking orders from him and will hate him as much as she does. Heathcliff grabs her and decides he will make her repent.

Nelly is about to step in to save Cathy, just as Heathcliff is about to beat her when he suddenly looks into his eyes and lets her go. After he calms down, he tells her not to be so passionate about him and orders Nelly to take her away.

Everyone leaves Heathcliff alone in the room until dinner. Nelly convinces Cathy to eat upstairs, but Heathcliff asks her to call for Cathy at dinnertime. He doesn’t speak to anyone, eats very little of his meal, and then announces he won’t return before evening. When Cathy and Hareton are alone that night, he confesses about Heathcliff’s hostile relationship with his father, and he would rather have her tease him than argue with Heathcliff. He asks her how she would like him to hate her father, and she replies that he has the master’s bad reputation, but she managed to be kind and loving despite Heathcliff’s hostility. She then confesses to Nelly her remorse for being rude toward Heathcliff and Hareton.

After Cathy and Hareton make up, Nelly sits with them after finishing her housework, watching Cathy teach Hareton to read. She feels so comforted when she sees them together that she forgets the time passing by. She is proud of their honest, warm nature that she barely recognizes when she first finds her at Wuthering Heights for the first time after her trip to the Crags. At dusk, Heathcliff returns unexpectedly and sees the three of them himself. Nobody glances to see him there until Hareton and Cathy look up at him, and he remembers that their features resemble Catherine Earnshaw. Cathy may not look like her mother, but Hareton resembles his aunt, which surprises Heathcliff. He briefly reads Hareton's book and signals Cathy to leave. Nelly is about to leave, too, but Heathcliff asks her to stay.

Heathcliff laments about demolishing both houses and has planned to destroy the last remaining heirs of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. But now, he is no longer interested in taking revenge on them. He senses a strange change around here, and the young couple's appearance causes him pain. He sees Hareton as more like a personification of his youth than a human being and how his likeness to his cousin connected him with her.

Heathcliff claims he sees Catherine's presence everywhere he goes, and Hareton's aspect is Catherine's spirit. He also cannot give any more attention to the couple. Nelly is alarmed by his manner and notices he still looks strong and healthy and has not become mentally unstable. He replies that he is only half-conscious of it and isn't sick. She asks him if he's afraid of death, and he replies no. He wants to stay alive as long as possible but knows he no longer wants to live and yearns for one thing. He paces around and mutters to himself. Nelly wonders how his death will play out.

For a few days afterwards, Heathcliff starts skipping meals, although he has yet to consent to leave Hareton and Cathy alone fully. He spends most of his time alone and eats only once per day. One night, after everyone goes to bed, Nelly hears Heathcliff go downstairs and out the front door. It is April with warm weather, green grass, and the trees at the house are in full bloom. After breakfast, Cathy insists that Nelly bring her chair outside. While Nelly works under the fir trees, Cathy and Hareton work in their garden. Hareton has fully recovered from his injury, and Nelly is making herself comfortable when Cathy informs her Heathcliff is coming, who has become more cheerful and excited. Nelly thinks he enjoys his night walks, and she is also surprised by his unusual cheerfulness. She spots him at the open door, pale and trembling but with a joyful glitter in his eyes.

Nelly asks him if he will have breakfast, assuming he must be hungry from outside all night, but Heathcliff refuses. She is puzzled and says it's unwise for him to wander in the moors all night as he will likely catch a cold or fever. As she passes him, she notices his fast breathing and can't decide what he has been up to. Later that day, when they sit for dinner, Heathcliff takes a plate and says he is not sick but will still eat what she has served him. He is about to eat when he lays his cutlery on the table, glances at the window and leaves. Nelly and the others see him pacing in the garden after their meal, and Hareton says he'll ask why he hasn't finished his dinner. When he returns, he says Heathcliff isn't angry but impatient when he tries to talk to him.

Nelly places Heathcliff's unfinished food by the fireplace to keep warm. After an hour, Heathcliff comes in with the same cheerful face while shivering violently. She isn't sure if she should ask him what is wrong, but she tells him he is unusually lively. He says he is cheerful with hunger but doesn't want to eat, and he will wait until dinner. He reminds her to keep Hareton and Cathy away from him, as he wishes to be alone.

She asks him why he has been secluding himself and where he was last night. Heathcliff replies that he was standing on the threshold of hell and claims he was in sight of his heaven today. He urges her to leave him if she doesn't want to hear anything that will frighten her. After sweeping the hearth and wiping the table, Nelly leaves more confused.

Heathcliff doesn't leave the house that afternoon, and nobody interrupts him. Finally, at 8 o'clock, Nelly brings him a candle and his dinner. She finds him leaning against the ledge of an opened window but is looking inside rather than out. The fire has been burnt out, and the room is filled with the damp air of the night. She asks him if she can close the window but is horrified by his deep, black eyes and ghastly, pale smile. She leaves the candle on the wall and is left in the darkness. He agrees to let her close the window and asks her to bring another candle. She hurries to Joseph and tells him Heathcliff wants him to get a candle and relight his fire, as she doesn't feel comfortable going back there by herself.

Joseph lights a candle and returns with Heathcliff's empty supper tray. He explains that Heathcliff has gone to bed and won't eat until morning. They hear Heathcliff leave his bedchamber and go to the room with the wide window, and Nelly thinks he plans to go out into the moors again all night. She muses if he could be a vampire or a ghoul, as she has learned about demonic creatures. But then she reflects on how she looked after him when he was a child, watched him grow into an adult, and followed him through the whole course. She finds it nonsense to experience that kind of horror.

As she falls asleep, Nelly wonders where Heathcliff came from. She dreams about figuring out who his parents could be, and when she wakes up, she imagines his whole life, death, and funeral. She thinks about consulting the sexton and writing the inscription on Heathcliff's grave but knows this will be strange as Heathcliff has no surname, and she doesn't know his age. So, she decides his gravestone will only be inscribed with his name and the year he died. Her common sense is restored at dawn. She first goes out into the garden and looks for footprints under his window. There are none, and she assumes he has been in that room all night and thinks he will be alright today.

Nelly prepares breakfast and tells Hareton and Cathy to get their meals before Heathcliff comes down, as he has overslept. They prefer to eat outside under the trees, so she sets a table for them. After returning inside, she finds Heathcliff and Joseph talking about the farming business. Heathcliff gives clear details but talks faster with the same excited expression. When Joseph leaves, Heathcliff takes his preferred seat, and Nelly serves him coffee. He glances at the opposite wall, surveys it with his restless eyes, and even stops breathing for a minute. She gives him some bread and urges him to eat and drink while it's still hot. He doesn't notice her, and she demands he stop staring at something that isn't there. Heathcliff tells her not to yell and asks if they are alone. She replies that they are alone.

Heathcliff clears the table away and leans forward to gaze at what he sees. Judging by his anguished reaction, Nelly thinks he is not looking at the wall but at something talking to him. She reminds him to eat his food, but he ignores her. She sits and tries to get his attention until he gets irritable and asks why she won't let him eat his meals alone. She replies that she won't wait for him next time, as she'll prepare his food and then go. He leaves the house, walks down the garden path and out the gate.

Many hours go by, and by evening, Nelly goes to bed late but can't sleep. Heathcliff returns after midnight and shuts himself in the room beneath instead of going to bed. She listens and tosses about until she gets dressed, descends the stairs, and finds it irritating to sleep in there. She follows his steps and can hear him groan and mutter Catherine’s name. Not having the courage to walk straight into the room, she draws him out by tending the fire and scraping the ashes. He opens the door and asks if it’s morning. She replies that it’s four o’clock, and he’ll need a candle to take upstairs. He doesn’t want to go upstairs and invites her to kindle his fire. She gets a chair and bellows, saying she needs to cool the red coals first, and he roams around sighing.

Heathcliff says that at dawn, he’ll send for Mr. Green to make some legal inquiries of his will and doesn’t know what he’ll do with his property. Nelly replies that his will can wait as she wants him to repent for the injustices he has caused. She points out that he is growing frail, and his eyes are bloodshot from not eating and sleeping for three days. He says he doesn’t mean to avoid sleeping or eating and will do it soon when he can. He decides not to send Mr. Green and is happy with himself. She finds his happiness strange and gives him advice by explaining that when he was 13 years old, he was a selfish boy who hardly learned any lessons from the Bible. She asks him if he finds it distressful to send for a minister to explain the lessons of the Bible and to tell him he is unfit for the afterlife in Heaven unless he can change himself. Heathcliff claims he is more obliged to himself and requests to be buried in the evening at the churchyard. Nelly and Hareton may accompany him, and she must ensure the sexton obeys his bribe. He also doesn’t want a minister present for the burial.

Nelly is shocked that he is still stubborn and will be like that until he dies. She asks him how he’ll feel if the sexton refuses to bury him in the kirkyard. Heathcliff tells her that if he isn’t buried in his designated spot, she must remove him secretly, warning her that the dead won’t be annihilated if she refuses. As everyone in the house wakes up, Heathcliff returns to his room. In the afternoon, when Joseph and Hareton are working, Heathcliff returns to the kitchen and invites Nelly to sit with him. She refuses, as she is scared of his appearance and doesn’t want to be alone with him. He attempts to have Cathy sit with him instead. Afterwards, he spends the rest of his time alone.

At dusk, Heathcliff goes to his room. All night, Nelly and the others can hear him groaning and murmuring. Hareton is anxious to see him, but she urges him to fetch Mr. Kenneth and bring him into Heathcliff’s room. When the doctor arrives, she finds his door locked, and thinking he’s better and wants to be alone, Mr. Kenneth leaves.

It rains all night and into the morning. Nelly is just returning from her morning walk when she sees Heathcliff’s bedroom window wide open and the rain pouring through. She thinks he can’t still be in bed as he will be drenched and decides to investigate. She unlocks the door with another key and pushes aside some furniture barricading the door. She peeps inside and spots Heathcliff lying on his back with a smile on his face. She doesn’t think he’s dead, as his face and body are drenched from the rain, and he lays perfectly still. No blood is spotted on him, and she discovers he is dead when she checks his pulse.

Nelly closes the window, combs back Heathcliff’s hair on his forehead, and tries to close his eyes before anyone else notices. But his eyes won’t shut, so Nelly calls for Joseph. He refuses to meddle with him, claiming the Devil has carried his soul away and is shocked at him, smiling at death. Joseph then kneels and returns his gratitude that Heathcliff is dead. Nelly can only think about sombre memories of him.

Only Hareton mourns Heathcliff. He sits by the body all night weeping, holding his hand and kissing his face. Mr. Kenneth is confused about what caused his death. Nelly claims he hasn’t eaten for four days and died due to his mental illness.

Heathcliff is then buried in the churchyard as he wishes. Only Nelly, Hareton and the sexton attended his funeral, with six men carrying his coffin. After the coffin is lowered into the ground, the pallbearers leave, and Nelly and Hareton stay behind to watch the grave being filled. Hareton plants some green sods on the soft mould, and Nelly thinks Heathcliff will finally rest peacefully. However, the locals claim to see Heathcliff’s ghost roaming the moors, near the church, and even in Wuthering Heights. Joseph even affirms that he sees the ghosts of Heathcliff and Catherine looking out of his bedroom window every rainy night. A month after Heathcliff’s death, Nelly is returning from the Grange to the Heights one stormy night and spots a young boy with a sheep and two lambs. He was crying, and the sheep are too skittish to move. She asks him what’s wrong, and the boy claims he just saw the spirits of Heathcliff and Catherine. Nelly saw nothing and directs the boy to take his sheep down the lower path.

In September, Nelly sits by the kitchen sewing and singing while Cathy is busy teaching Hareton to read. Nelly argues with Joseph about the young couple and her singing when Mr. Lockwood suddenly enters. She is surprised to see him again and asks how he arrived. He explains he will stay at the Grange for a while and leave tomorrow. She reveals why she is here at the Heights and asks if he came from Gimmerton this evening. Mr. Lockwood says he walked from the Grange while his accommodations were being prepared. He has come to settle his business with Heathcliff about his rent, but Nelly tells him he will have to speak either with her or with Cathy, who hasn’t learned to manage her affairs yet, and reveals to him that Heathcliff died three months ago. She offers to take his hat and anything for him to eat. Mr. Lockwood declines as he has his supper prepared at home and wants to know the story leading up to Heathcliff’s death. He asks if he expects Hareton and Cathy to be back soon, as they just left for a walk outside. She says she often scolds them for wandering out late, but they don’t seem to mind. She offers to give him some ale as a refreshment and leaves briefly. She ignores Joseph's complaining about the couple and returns with a silver pint of ale for Mr. Lockwood. She then narrates the rest of the story, from Hareton and Cathy’s budding relationship to Heathcliff’s last days. She also talks about Heathcliff and Catherine’s ghosts being spotted around the moors.

She concludes by saying she’s afraid to go out after dark and feels uncomfortable alone in Wuthering Heights. She looks forward to when Hareton and Cathy return to Thrushcross Grange after their New Year’s Day wedding. Mr. Lockwood asks who will stay at Wuthering Heights, and she replies that only Joseph will stay to look after the house and may even have a boy to keep him company while the rest of the house is locked up. Mr. Lockwood suggests the rest of the house will be for the ghosts to inhabit, but Nelly disagrees, believing the dead are at peace and don’t deserve to be spoken ill of. As Hareton and Cathy return, Mr. Lockwood leaves.

Nelly likely moved back to Thrushcross Grange with Hareton and Cathy when they married.

## Personality/Appearances

Nelly is a dutiful, kind servant who has spent most of her life caring for those she has lived with. She has taken on the role of a caretaker since she was young, and even at a young age, she still manages to keep her devotion to those who need her. When Heathcliff, Catherine and Hindley fell ill with measles, she was the only one assigned to nurse them back to health. Despite the restraining tasks, she successfully treated them and was praised for her hard work. Later on, she serves as a surrogate mother to Hareton and Cathy. As both of their mothers died shortly after their births, Nelly raises them as her own, to the point where she even loves them as her own children. As their mother figure, she wants to stay close to them as much as possible. She would feel despondent when she couldn’t be closer to them, such as when she had to leave Hareton behind to live at the Grange and when her request was denied if she could live near Cathy after she was forced to live at the Heights as a servant.

She still shows compassion to those she doesn’t appreciate or is easily annoyed by. When Heathcliff is first taken into the Heights, she initially despises him due to his unusual appearance and unknown background. However, after she nursed him back to health, she shows him more sympathy, even if she doubts she will be more doting on him. She pities him for his suffering from Hindley’s mistreatment and tries what she can to help him. She disapproves of Catherine’s foolishness and thinks she is a bit deluded, but she still offers her support to her and Edgar shortly after their wedding.

Although she is a supportive, caring woman, sometimes she can make mistakes in her responsibilities and won’t handle the criticism she receives. Whenever she is criticized for not being more responsible for Catherine or others entrusted in her care, she defends herself by saying that no matter how hard her job is on her, she will still do what is right and not let anyone down. However, she makes some decisions that question her loyalty, including the time she leaves Heathcliff on the landing of the stairs after he is brought home in hopes he will be gone by the morning. No matter how hard she tries to protect the wards in her care, her accidental mistakes would nearly put them in danger or ruined. For example, when she hid Hareton in the cupboard and unloaded Hindley’s rifle, she couldn’t stop him from dropping the child over the banister, even though Heathcliff had saved his life. She also could have been more protective of Cathy as she visits the Heights more often, and before long, she could not keep her from being unhappily married and mistreated by Heathcliff.

Nelly is easily offended whenever anyone is unkind, or wishes harm to others. She chastises Linton for his selfish behaviour toward Cathy, reminds him of everything she has done for him, and advises Heathcliff not to take revenge on Hindley as he should learn how to forgive instead of planning something that will likely ruin Hindley. She is outraged when Heathcliff says he had dug up Catherine’s grave to gaze at her body and condemned him for disrupting the dead in such a deluded way. As she watches some of the story’s most dramatic and intense scenes, she stands by and witnesses what she sees without doing anything to stop it. An example is when Catherine locks Edgar and Heathcliff in the kitchen to have them confront each other, but Nelly doesn’t step in and have Catherine unlock the door. She is the only character of both houses whose voice of reason and her morality would have prevented those who knew her from ruining themselves, as they always tend to ignore her since they think she isn’t helping them out in their situations. She would be anxious about losing her job from one of her mistakes and would keep quiet and make others promise her to keep them a secret, like when she asked Cathy never to tell her father that she went to the Heights so she would keep her job. She also worries for her life when she is threatened by Heathcliff or his servants at the Heights.

Nelly is known to be unreliable when telling most of the story to Mr. Lockwood. She narrates the story of everything she sees in her eyes but occasionally narrates someone else’s point of view, mostly when she narrates Isabella’s letter and describes everything she has read. Readers sometimes notice that her narration doesn’t put too much faith in her accurate words. She has a habit of being talkative and commenting about her employers and those entrusted in her care; in fact, she would sometimes pause her narration and describe everything about someone’s character or beliefs and isn’t afraid to express her opinions. She enjoys hearing about other people’s affairs but always brings them up. She even uses Romanticism in her words as she is more moved by the dramatic and emotional content she sees and hears.

Finally, Nelly is a devout Christian whose beliefs make her see the darkness inside Heathcliff and is willing to leave judgment and justice to God; she would even use her Christian values by believing that Catherine is now in a peaceful peace, which she refers to as Heaven; she considers herself to be righteous in her religion and has much knowledge in social inequality and religious virtues. She is also superstitious, as she doesn’t take dreams very seriously and is superstitious of them, such as when she refuses to listen to Catherine’s dream shortly after accepting Edgar’s proposal. She believes that dreams are prophetic, a common belief in Yorkshire. During Heathcliff’s final days, she dreams about his tombstone, which comes true. Before this, she had several encounters with the supernatural, such as seeing visions. One time, she sees a vision of a child resembling Hindley’s younger self, representing an ominous sign that he would die soon, and it also becomes a reality. In the days leading up to Heathcliff’s death, he can see and sense Catherine’s presence, which makes Nelly afraid of his supernatural beliefs. After she finds Heathcliff dead with an ominous smile on his face and hears reports of his spirits wandering the moors, Nelly will forever be afraid of the ghosts and no longer comfortable inside a dark, gloomy house like the Heights. But in her opinion, she doesn’t believe in ghosts and thinks that the dead are in peace at last and won’t speak ill of them, despite those she mistrusts, including Heathcliff and Catherine, not being able to rest in peace.

## Relationships

### Heathcliff

The gypsy orphan who Mr. Earnshaw took in at Wuthering Heights. When Nelly meets him for the first time, she doesn’t appreciate him being in her master’s home. However, after she nursed him back to health from measles, she started to warm up to him. While she cannot be affectionately close to him, she shows him sympathy and attempts to offer him some advice to improve himself. After Heathcliff disappears from the Heights, Nelly is initially concerned about his absence but later settles herself in her new life at Thrushcross Grange, and everything is normal until his sudden return. She is astonished to see him as a wealthy gentleman but doesn’t know where he got his wealth.

As time passes, Nelly suspects foul play in Heathcliff when he starts having affections towards Isabella and when her master Edgar becomes offended whenever he is in his home. In addition, she becomes afraid of Heathcliff and would easily run away from him when she comes across him. After she witnesses Heathcliff embrace Isabella, she calls him a traitor for his unhealthy relationship with her. Shortly afterwards, she hears the couple ride away on their horses and learns they are married. Weeks later, Nelly was made by Heathcliff to arrange for him to visit Catherine, and she was moved as she watched the couple lament about each other. After Catherine’s death, Nelly notices that Heathcliff may be losing his insanity after learning of her passing, and many years later, tries to keep Cathy away from Heathcliff.

Heathcliff tells Nelly he is hoping his son Linton will marry Cathy, which makes Nelly wonder what his intentions are. However, after being tricked by him into going to the Heights, she ends up being held hostage for a few days and discovers he is forcing a marriage between Linton and Cathy to have ownership of the Grange. After she was released, she found that Cathy had married Linton, but she managed to see her father again just before he died. Heathcliff then makes Cathy live with him at the Heights, and Nelly begs him to let her live close by her but is horrified when he talks about digging up Catherine’s body and bribing the sexton to have him buried next to her. When one of the servants at the Heights left, Nelly was able to live at the house and noticed Heathcliff’s strange behaviour. She finds his superstitious visions nonsense and chastises him for always being brutal and cruel. She later finds his body in his room and has him buried in his designated burial spot.

### Catherine Earnshaw

The daughter of the Earnshaw’s. Nelly had grown up alongside her and enjoyed playing with her and her brother at a young age. She sees Catherine as a mischievous troublemaker from her inseparable bond with Heathcliff, but when she is injured at the Grange while spying on the Lintons, she returns as a noble, pampered lady. She began a relationship with Edgar, but when Nelly tried to talk with her one day, she got poked and pinched. Later on, when Catherine is calm, she confesses that she has been betrothed to Edgar. Nelly finds it odd that Catherine wants to get married so soon and asks if Edgar is worth marrying. After realizing that Heathcliff has disappeared following their discussion, she tries to console her about it, but when she comes down with a fever after trying to find him outside in the heavy rain, she has to look at her.

After their wedding, Nelly moves in with Catherine and Edgar three years later. She lives a decent life with them until Heathcliff returns, and chaos ensues between him and the newlyweds. Catherine locks herself up in despair, and after she unlocks her door, Nelly attempts to console her, but Catherine has a frenzied fit that Nelly has a hard time controlling over. After helping Heathcliff arrange a visit to Catherine, she informs her mistress of his upcoming visit. When Catherine dies in childbirth, Nelly is left heartbroken by her death but believes she is now at peace.

### Edgar Linton

Catherine’s aristocratic husband, and Nelly’s employer after the Earnshaws. She views Edgar as a dutiful, loving man who values and adores his family. While she is loyal to Edgar, she sometimes fails to follow her master’s orders, such as keeping Heathcliff away from his family or from Thrushcross Grange. Whenever Nelly falls into these predicaments, mostly when Cathy visits Wuthering Heights, she sometimes lies to Edgar to prevent losing her job because she failed to protect Cathy. However, she isn’t afraid to expose Edgar the truth about Cathy’s correspondence with Linton, since Edgar doesn’t want his daughter seeing Linton at Wuthering Heights and prefers Linton to visit Cathy at the Grange instead.

### Isabella Linton

Edgar’s younger sister and Catherine’s sister-in-law, who lived at the Grange with Nelly. When Isabella falls in love with Heathcliff, Nelly warns her that Heathcliff isn’t an ideal man for her. Despite Nelly’s warning, Isabella runs off with Heathcliff, and about six weeks later, Isabella writes a long letter to Nelly about her miserable marriage at Wuthering Heights. Nelly still expresses her sympathy with Isabella as she immediately goes to the Heights to help her, but doesn’t get the chance. Later, Isabella escapes from Wuthering Heights and visits Nelly again briefly before leaving Yorkshire for good.

### Mr. Lockwood

A gentleman from London who stays as a tenant of both the Heights and Grange. Nelly first meets him when she tends to him after he falls ill from his visit to the Heights. After witnessing Heathcliff’s brute personality, the ghostly woman and the inhabitants of the Heights, he convinces her to tell him the story about Heathcliff and those who live with him. Nelly narrates everything from her point of view about Heathcliff, and Mr. Lockwood becomes so intrigued by her narration that he persuades her to keep going.

A couple of times during her story, Nelly would distract herself from her narration and bring up her thoughts on certain people she had become fond of, but she knew that she wasn’t going anywhere in her storytelling after a while. After she finishes her story, Mr. Lockwood leaves Yorkshire but returns months later, where she narrates the rest of her story leading to Heathcliff’s death. She then informs him about Cathy and Hareton’s upcoming marriage and denies that ghosts would haunt the Heights, and they are now at peace.

## References

1. ↑ *Wuthering Heights,* Chapter 4
2. ↑ Chapter 5
3. ↑ Chapter 6
4. ↑ Chapter 7
5. ↑ Chapter 8
6. ↑ Chapter 9
7. ↑ Chapter 10
8. ↑ Chapter 11
9. ↑ Chapter 12
10. ↑ Chapter 13
11. ↑ Chapter 14
12. ↑ Chapter 15
13. ↑ Chapter 16
14. ↑ Chapter 17
15. ↑ Chapter 18
16. ↑ Chapter 19
17. ↑ Chapter 20
18. ↑ Chapter 21
19. ↑ Chapter 22
20. ↑ Chapter 23
21. ↑ Chapter 24
22. ↑ Chapter 25
23. ↑ Chapter 26
24. ↑ Chapter 27
25. ↑ Chapter 28
26. ↑ Chapter 29
27. ↑ Chapter 30
28. ↑ Chapter 1
29. ↑ Chapter 2
30. ↑ Chapter 4
31. ↑ Chapter 7
32. ↑ Chapter 9
33. ↑ Chapter 10
34. ↑ Chapter 25
35. ↑ Chapter 30
36. ↑ Chapter 31
37. ↑ Chapter 32
38. ↑ Chapter 33
39. ↑ Chapter 34
40. ↑ Chapter 32
41. ↑ Chapter 34