Wuthering Heights

Question 1

Heathcliff

Answer 1

Orphan brought to wuthering heights by Mr.Earnshaw, falls in love with his daughter Catherine. Spends life getting revenge on Hindley, Catherine’s brother. A powerful, fierce, and often cruel man.

Question 2

Catherine Earnshaw

Answer 2

In love with heathcliff, claims they are the same person. Her desire for social advancement leads her to marry Edgar Linton instead. Free spirited, beautiful, spoiled, & often arrogant. Torn between wild passion for heathcliff & her social ambition. Brings misery to both the men who love her.

Question 3

Edgar linton

Answer 3

Spoiled boy, grows into a tender, constant, but cowardly man. Almost the ideal gentleman: Catherine accurately describes him as handsome, pleasant to be with, cheerful, and rich.

Question 4

Lockwood

Answer 4

Narration forms a frame around nelly: he serves as an intermediary between nelly & the reader. Comes from a more domesticated region of England & finds himself at a loss when he witnesses the strange household’s disregard for the social conversations that have always strictest his world. As a narrator, his vanity & unfamiliarity with the story occasionally lead him to misunderstand events.

Question 5

Nelly dean

Answer 5

Chief narrator of wuthering heights. A sensible, intelligent, & compassionate woman, she grew up essentially alongside Hadley & Catherine Earnshaw & is deeply involved in the story she tells. Has strong feelings for the characters in her story, & these feelings complicate her narration.

Question 6

Isabella linton

Answer 6

Edgars sister, falls in love with HC and marries him, ruins her life by falling in love with him. He never loved her, was just getting revenge on Edgar. Experiences HC brutality. Flees to London to give birth to HC’s son & tried to keep son from HC.

Question 7

Young Catherine (Cathy)

Answer 7

Daughter of Edgar & Catherine linton. Headstrong behvaiour, arrogance. Gentler & more compassionate than her mother. Mother died while giving birth to Cathy. Forced to marry linton, in love with hareton & eventually ends up with him.

Question 8

Hareton Earnshaw

Answer 8

Son of hindley & frances Earnshaw (Catherine’s nephew) after hindleys death, HC gets custody & raises him as an uneducated field worker, just as Hindly had done to HC. HC uses hareton to seek revenge on Hidnley. He’s quick tempered, easily humiliated, but shows a good heart & a deep desire to improve himself. Maries young Catherine, only one to mourn HC’s death.

Question 9

Linton Heathcliff

Answer 9

Isabella & HC’s son, demanding * constantly ill, he is raised in London by Isabella & doesn’t meet father till he is 14 when he goes to live with him after his mothers death. HC despises hum, forces him to marry young Catherine, uses him to cement his control over Thrushcross Grange after Edgar linton s death. Linton dies not long after this marriage.

Question 10

Hindley Earnshaw

Answer 10

Catherines brother & Mr. Earnshaw’s son. Resents it when HC is brought to live at WH. After his father dies & he inherits the estate, Hindley begins to abuse HC, terminating his education & forcing him to work in the fields. Wife Frances dies giving birth to hareton, Hindley becomes alcoholic & abandons his son.

Question 11

Mr.Earnshaw

Answer 11

Catherine & hindleys father, finds HC in Liverpool & brings him home to live at WH, he like HC better than his son Hindley, but gives the estates to Hindley when he dies.

Question 12

Mrs. Earnshaw

Answer 12

Mother of Catherine & Hindley, she neither likes nor trusts the orphan HC when he is brought to live with them. She dies shortly after HC’s arrival. Favours Hindley over HC

Question 13

Joseph

Answer 13

A long-winded, frantically religious, elderly servant at WH. He is strange, stubborn, & unkind, & he speaks with a think Yorkshire accent. He is a hypocrite.

Question 14

Frances Earnshaw

Answer 14

Hindleys wife, who treats HC cruelly. Sick & dies shortly after giving birthto Hareton

Question 15

Mr. Linton

Answer 15

Edgar & Isabella’s father & the proprietor of Thrushcross Grange when HC & Catherine are children. An established member of the gentry, he raises his sons & daughter to be well-mannered young people.

Question 16

Mrs. Linton

Answer 16

Eager & isabellas mother, somewhat a snobbish wife who doesn’t like HC to be allowed near her children. She teaches Catherine to act like a gentle-women, thereby instilling her with social ambitions. Welcomes Catherine in her home, introducing her to upper society

Question 17

Zillow

Answer 17

The housekeeper at WH during the later stages of the narrative. Saves Lockwood from the dogs, serves as Nelly’s source of info at WH.

Question 18

MR. GREEN

Answer 18

Edgar lintons lawyer, who arrives too late to hear Edgar’s final instruction to change his will, which would have prevented HC from obtaining control over Thrushcross Grange.

Question 19

‘My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!’

Answer 19

Catherine describes to Nelly the different types of love that she has for Heathcliff and Edgar Linton. While her love for Edgar will change over time, Catherine sees her love for Heathcliff as solid and eternal, as if she and Heathcliff inhabit the same body. Catherine refuses to give up either relationship: Edgar brings her the comfort and status she’s always desired, but Heathcliff satisfies her passion and completes her soul. This love triangle and conflict becomes the intertwining theme of love throughout the novel.

Question 20

‘You know as well as I do, that for every thought she spends on Linton she spends a thousand on me! . . . If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldn’t love as much in eighty years as I could in a day. And Catherine has a heart as deep as I have: the sea could be as readily contained in that horse-trough as her whole affection be monopolized by him…It is not in him to be loved like me . . . ’

Answer 20

Here, Heathcliff passionately speaks with Nelly about how his capacity to love Catherine far exceeds Edgar’s ability to experience love. This discussion comes as Nelly tries to convince Heathcliff to leave Catherine alone in order to save her from physical and mental distress. Heathcliff’s declaration echoes Catherine’s passionate description of her love for him at the beginning of the novel. Their passion consumes them, depicting a detrimental and destructive aspect of love.

Question 21

The intimacy thus commenced grew rapidly; though it encountered temporary interruptions. Earnshaw was not to be civilized with a wish, and my young lady was no philosopher, and no paragon of patience; but both their minds tending to the same point—one loving and desiring to esteem, and the other loving and desiring to be esteemed—they contrived in the end to reach it.

Answer 21

Nelly describes to Mr. Lockwood how young Catherine and Hareton Earnshaw fell in love. She depicts a thoughtful, mutual relationship, where both young Catherine and Hareton Earnshaw accept each other’s weaknesses while giving to one another what they need. The balance in their relationship contrasts with the destructive love of Catherine and Heathcliff. Young Catherine and Hareton Earnshaw represent the theme of healthy true love in this novel as their newfound love ends a decades-long conflict between the Linton and Earnshaw families.

Question 22

He pulled me under the chandelier, and Mrs. Linton placed her spectacles on her nose and raised her hands in horror…‘Frightful thing! Put him in the cellar, papa. He’s exactly like the son of the fortune-teller that stole my tame pheasant’ . . . ‘A wicked boy, at all events,’ remarked the old lady, ‘and quite unfit for a decent house! Did you notice his language, Linton?’

Answer 22

Nelly Dean recounts what Heathcliff told her about how the Lintons treated him when he and Catherine were caught trespassing. The Lintons immediately looked down on Heathcliff because he was not of their social class. Without even giving Heathcliff a chance, they judged him and cast him aside. Meanwhile, they recognized their neighbor Catherine and welcomed and cared for her despite her complicity in the crime. This event explains the beginnings of Heathcliff’s hatred towards the Lintons and highlights his sudden awareness of his social class separation from Catherine.

Question 23

Catherine had kept up her acquaintance with the Lintons . . . and she had no temptation to show her rough side in their company, and had the sense to be ashamed of being rude where she experienced such invariable courtesy, she imposed unwittingly on the old lady and gentlemen . . . gained the admiration of Isabella, and the heart and soul of her brother: acquisitions that flattered her from the first—she was full of ambition—and led her to adopt a double character without exactly intending to deceive any one.

Answer 23

Nelly explains to Mr. Lockwood how Catherine conformed to the Lintons’ higher class expectations while living with them for five weeks. Nelly describes how Catherine developed something of a split personality in order to gain the admiration of the Lintons while also fitting in with Heathcliff and her family at Wuthering Heights. Catherine has ambition and knows that moving into a higher social class will improve her life.

Question 24

Nelly explains to Mr. Lockwood how Catherine conformed to the Lintons’ higher class expectations while living with them for five weeks. Nelly describes how Catherine developed something of a split personality in order to gain the admiration of the Lintons while also fitting in with Heathcliff and her family at Wuthering Heights. Catherine has ambition and knows that moving into a higher social class will improve her life.

Answer 24

Heathcliff describes to Nelly his control over Hareton and Linton’s social class. Heathcliff explains how he has taught Hareton, who was born a gentleman, to act lower in class. Whereas he plans to bring Linton, his son, to a higher class by forcing a marriage with young Catherine. Heathcliff manipulates the social standings of Hareton and Linton as part of his plans for revenge. Heathcliff resents the poor treatment he received as an orphan without social connections and recognizes the power of social class.

Question 25

‘I want you to be aware that I know you have treated me infernally—infernally! . . . and if you think I can be consoled by sweet words, you are an idiot: and if you fancy I’ll suffer unrevenged, I’ll convince you of the contrary, in a very little while! Meantime, thank you for telling me your sister-in-law’s secret: I swear I’ll make the most of it.’

Answer 25

Here, Heathcliff speaks to Catherine of his plans for revenge and how he has not forgotten how everyone has mistreated him, especially Catherine. He hints that he will use Isabella Linton to accomplish his vengeful strategies. Heathcliff’s desire for retribution has been stewing since childhood, but Catherine’s decision to marry Edgar Linton triggered his resolve. Heathcliff’s revenge will become a driving, inescapable force in the novel.

Question 26

‘Whatever he may pretend, he wishes to provoke Edgar to desperation: he says he has married me on purpose to obtain power over him . . . I pray he forget his diabolical prudence and kill me!’ . . . He seized and thrust her from the room; and returned muttering—‘I have no pity! I have no pity! The more the worms writhe, the more I yearn to crush out their entrails!’

Answer 26

Nelly describes what she sees and hears during her visit to see Isabella and Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights after their marriage. First, Isabella tells her of Heathcliff’s plans to take revenge on Edgar. Then, Nelly recounts Heathcliff’s affirmation of Isabella’s account, declaring his ruthless resolve. Nelly makes it clear that Heathcliff will not stop for anyone or anything. Driven by a deep need for vengeance, he will not be satisfied until he accomplishes all of his plans.

Question 27

‘I get levers and mattocks to demolish the two houses, and train myself to be capable of working like Hercules, and when everything is ready and in my power, I find the will to lift a slate off either roof has vanished! My old enemies have not beaten me; now would be the precise time to revenge myself…But where is the use? I don’t care for striking…I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.’

Answer 27

Heathcliff tells Nelly about his current feelings towards his plans of revenge. Here, he explains how even though he has his enemies exactly where he wants them, he has lost the drive to finish his revenge. Heathcliff describes how he has the power to completely demolish those that he believes wronged him, but he no longer finds enjoyment in the revenge. Heathcliff now realizes that settling old scores does not give him happiness and will not bring Catherine back.

Question 28

The intense horror of my nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most melancholy voice sobbed, ‘Let me in—let me in!’…As it spoke, I discerned, obscurely, a child’s face looking through the window. Terror made me cruel; and, finding it useless to attempt shaking the creature off, I pulled its wrist on to the broken pane, and rubbed it to and fro till the blood ran down and soaked the bedclothes: still it wailed, ‘Let me in!’

Answer 28

Mr. Lockwood describes a supernatural event he experienced while spending a night at Wuthering Heights. Catherine haunts him, much like she haunts Heathcliff. Mr. Lockwood’s sensing of the mystery and despair of Wuthering Heights represents the reader in this early scene of the story. His tale uses supernatural elements to convey the psychological suffering that Heathcliff experiences through his loss of Catherine. Through these details, Mr. Lockwood and the reader immediately recognize the centrality of the Catherine and Heathcliff story.

Question 29

‘I muttered, “I wish they may shovel in the earth over us both!” and I wrenched at it more desperately still. There was another sigh, close at my ear. I appeared to feel the warm breath of it displacing the sleet-laden wind. I knew no living thing in flesh and blood was by; but, as certainly as you perceive the approach to some substantial body in the dark, though it cannot be discerned, so certainly I felt that Cathy was there: not under me, but on the earth.’

Answer 29

Heathcliff recounts a ghostly encounter with Catherine’s spirit. The day following Edgar Linton’s death, Heathcliff convinced the sexton to remove Catherine’s coffin lid and then experienced a heightened perception of Catherine’s presence and physical evidence of her visitation with the cold wind turning warm. His account evidences his strong belief in ghosts, confirmed in his mind by feeling Catherine’s breath and sensing her presence. This supernatural element reflects the gothic element of the story and reveals the psychological “haunting” of Heathcliff.

Question 30

But the country folks, if you ask them, would swear on the Bible that he walks: there are those who speak to having met him near the church, and on the moor, and even within this house. Idle tales, you’ll say, and so say I . . . Yet, still, I don’t like being out in the dark now; and I don’t like being left by myself in this grim house: I cannot help it; I shall be glad when they leave it, and shift to the Grange.

Answer 30

Nelly describes to Mr. Lockwood how area people strongly believe that Heathcliff haunts the moors and Wuthering Heights. She also explains how even she has experienced supernatural elements regarding Heathcliff and no longer likes being alone. These supernatural elements and beliefs represent a theme in the novel and speak to Heathcliff’s character and the haunting qualities of his life and love for Catherine.

Question 31

[‘]Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!’ He dashed his head against the knotted trunk; and, lifting up his eyes, howled, not like a man but like a savage beast being goaded to death with knives and spears.

Answer 31

Nelly explains to Mr. Lockwood how Heathcliff suffered after Catherine’s death. First, she repeats Heathcliff’s wail of grief and then describes his almost animalistic state. Heathcliff’s desolation at the loss of Catherine contrasts with the calm sadness seen in Edgar Linton’s response. While both men suffer in losing Catherine, Heathcliff’s anguish resonates with the earlier descriptions of the all-consuming love that both Heathcliff and Catherine shared. Self-destruction and suffering continue to haunt Heathcliff throughout the novel.

Question 32

‘Linton was white and trembling . . . he looked frightful; for his thin face and large eyes wrought into an expression of frantic; powerless fury . . . I took behold of Linton’s hands, and tried to pull him away; but he shrieked so shockingly that I dared not proceed. At last his cries were choked by a dreadful fit of coughing; blood gushed from his mouth, and he fell on the ground.’

Answer 32

Here, young Catherine describes to Nelly how weak and sickly Linton was during her last visit to Wuthering Heights. She continues to describe how Linton suffered at the hands of Hareton Earnshaw, who targets Linton’s weaknesses. The theme of suffering plays out in all stages of the novel as physical and mental illness afflicts many characters. The symptoms of Linton’s obvious physical illness suggest his mental breakdown as he seems to stay in a state of fear and powerlessness.

Question 33

‘I cannot continue in this condition! I have to remind myself to breathe—almost to remind my heart to beat! . . . My confessions have not relieved me; but they may account for some otherwise unaccountable phases of humour which I show. O God! It is a long fight; I wish it were over!’

Answer 33

Heathcliff speaks to Nelly of his emotional collapse after Catherine’s death. Clearly, Heathcliff faces psychological decline at the end of the book as he realizes that even his revenge does not satisfy him or bring his Catherine back. Heathcliff understands that his mental suffering impacts his physical well-being. He struggles to breathe, rest, and eat. He admits that he cannot go on in this state of existence anymore. Heathcliff’s suffering and the haunting of Catherine’s lost destructive love has become too much to bear.

Question 34

Setting

Answer 34

Yrokshire, England 1800s

Question 35

Thrushcross grange

Answer 35

An exquisite home that is only 4 miles away from wuthering heights - rented to Lockwood by heathcliff. More cultivated atmosphere then WH. Represent culture, refinement, convention, & cultivation

Question 36

Wuthering heights

Answer 36

A bleak, dark & cold place. Characters & actions that are most closely associated with WH refelct the unpleasant environment, ex. HC is fiendish, grim & moody

Question 37

Author

Answer 37

Emily Brontë

Question 38

Type of novel

Answer 38

Gothic