Wuthering Heights

Synopsis

A beautifully designed hardback gift edition with gold edging

In Emily Brontë’s only novel, the passion of Catherine and Heathcliff is as wild as the moors surrounding their childhood home, Wuthering Heights. This dark tale of love and loss, power and possession, action and terrifying reaction, stands as one of the greatest works of fiction in the English language.

Summary

Chapter 1

Mr. Lockwood, a tenant of Thrushcross Grange, becomes snowbound at Wuthering Heights, a desolate and enigmatic farmhouse inhabited by Heathcliff, a sullen and unwelcoming master, and his adopted children, Catherine and Hareton Earnshaw. Lockwood encounters several strange and unsettling incidents during his stay.

* Real Example: When Lockwood arrives at Wuthering Heights, he is greeted by a "grim-faced dog" that "sprang upon the top of him."

Chapter 2

Lockwood is found unconscious by Nelly Dean, the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights, who tells him the story of the Earnshaw family. She reveals that Heathcliff, an orphan, was taken in by Old Mr. Earnshaw and became the object of Catherine Earnshaw's passionate love.

* Real Example: Nelly describes Catherine as "a wild, wicked slip of a girl," who "was the beauty of the country."

Chapter 3

Catherine's love for Heathcliff is tested when she is sent to boarding school. Upon her return home, she finds him bitter and withdrawn. Despite this, their bond remains strong, and they vow to marry. However, Catherine's father disapproves of Heathcliff's low social status and forbids the union.

* Real Example: When Catherine tells her father that she intends to marry Heathcliff, he "rose from his chair in wrath" and exclaimed, "Never!"

Chapter 4

Catherine's father dies, leaving Hindley Earnshaw, his elder brother, as master of Wuthering Heights. Hindley mistreats Heathcliff, who retaliates by tormenting Hindley and his son, Hareton. Catherine, torn between her loyalty to Heathcliff and her desire for respectability, marries Edgar Linton of Thrushcross Grange.

* Real Example: Hindley "shut Heathcliff up into the kitchen, and gave him a pail of water to wash, and a piece of bread to eat."

Chapter 5

Catherine's marriage to Edgar is unhappy. She is unfulfilled by the Linton's genteel lifestyle and longs for Heathcliff. Meanwhile, Heathcliff has disappeared and returns as a wealthy and vengeful man. He takes over Wuthering Heights and wreaks havoc on the Earnshaw and Linton families.

* Real Example: When Heathcliff returns, he "stood at the door, and took a long survey of the room."