As news of a new adaptation of the beloved gothic novel Wuthering Heights has taken BookTok and bookworms around the world by storm, it is the perfect time to blow the dust off and reread this masterpiece. No matter what type of reader you are, whether you like to read while listening to music, or the place you like to read, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a must in any bookworm’s collection. But what makes Wuthering Heights so special that we still pine after the love story of Catherine and Heathcliff after almost two hundred years?
The simple answer is that all bookworms love the mix of dark and spooky elements mixed with a love that transcends time and even death. It’s a love against all odds that turns into a love that will never be while breaking the cycle of abuse, and we are all here for it. This English literature classic, published in 1847, combines gothic and romantic elements, that create an intoxicating concoction. In case you want more insight into what makes the characters so interesting, we have also provided an in-depth analysis of the characters. So now let’s focus purely on the events and the themes of the book.
For lovers of a gothic, dark fairy-tale romance, we suggest you take a look at our One Dark Window Summary and then head straight to your local library to get yourselves a copy.
Prepare for a thorough analysis and close-reading of the book and as always, beware valiant bookworms, there will be major spoilers ahead!
Surprisingly for the times, Wuthering Heights does not follow a linear plot line. It begins in medias res when Mr. Lockwood rents Thrushcross Grange from its current master, Mr. Heathcliff, in late 1801. When Lockwood comes to the West Yorkshire moors to meet the sour Heathcliff, he also meets Ellen “Nelly” Dean, who narrates the story of the occupants of Wuthering Heights and takes as back to 1771.
Years ago, when Nelly Dean was a young servant in the manor, Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights, travelled to Liverpool. There he found an orphan boy named Heathcliff, who he brought with him to raise as his own. As one can expect, the Earnshaw family does not take too kindly to the dark-skinned Heathcliff coming home. Neither Mrs. Earnshaw nor the children, Hindley and Catherine, like Heathcliff at first. However, soon Catherine lets her prejudices aside and gets to know Heathcliff, and soon they become inseparable. Hindley Earnshaw still detests Heathcliff, though, especially as his father grows fonder of him. To stop his violent treatment of Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw sends Hindley off to college.
It is not until three years later that Mr. Earnshaw dies and Hindley comes back as the new master of Wuthering Heights with his new wife, Frances, by his side. Hindley has not forgotten about the misery Heathcliff has caused him, and immediately seeks his revenge by putting a stop to his education and making him work as a laborer on the estate. Despite Heathcliff’s vile treatment, Catherine still spends most of her time with him. Together, they decide to mess with the other two children growing up on the other side of the moors, the Lintons. Edgar and Isabella Linton live in Thrushcross Grange and are said to be snobbish and poised. In their efforts to tease the snobbish siblings, Catherine ends up being bitten by a dog and is forced to stay at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks to recover.
It is not until Catherine Earnshaw returns to Wuthering Heights, infatuated with Edgar and enamored with Mrs. Linton’s coquettish ways, that her relationship with Heathcliff takes a tempestuous turn. Soon after, Frances gives birth to Hareton Earnshaw, but the good times don’t last long and Frances dies shortly after. His wife’s death sends Hindley into a downward spiral. He succumbs to alcoholism and completely neglects his son, while being extra malicious towards Heathcliff. This results in Heathcliff running away from Wuthering Heights. In the meantime, Catherine’s feelings for Heathcliff although still present, are shadowed by her ambition for social advancement.
Catherine and marries Edgar Linton, who is pleasant and definitely in love with her. Heathcliff returns shortly after, having mysteriously acquired wealth and willing to help Hindley, who is by now heavily in debt and deep into self-destruction. Due to his lending Hindley money, Heathcliff becomes inherits Wuthering Heights when Hindley dies. But taking the estate is not enough for him, Heathcliff seeks revenge on all who have wronged him. He treats Hindley’s son like a laborer and lets him grow an illiterate knave, much like Hindley did to him. Nevertheless, it is now time to focus on taking his love back.
Heathcliff pursues Catherine, who once thought that: “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” for Heathcliff—we could not go on without mentioning this iconic quote. Catherine obviously still has feelings for Heathcliff but is pleased with her marriage and her place in life. The brooding and dark Heathcliff, however, will not be deterred. Putting his charm on and letting his dark allure charm the naive Isabella Linton, he convinces her to elope and soon their unhappy marriage starts. Heathcliff’s true vile and cruel nature surfaces and Isabella takes the brunt of it. Heathcliff can never love Isabella, not like he loves, or better yet, obsesses over Catherine.
His world will be turned upside down when the object of his desire falls ill and dies giving birth to Edgar’s daughter, Catherine Linton. Ever poetically, Catherine is buried at the edge of the Kirkyard, between the two estates and the men in her life. Heathcliff is convinced that Catherine’s spirit is still with him and blames him or her untimely death, so he begs her to haunt him in any way possible. In his words: “You said I killed you—haunt me, then! [...] Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!” His demonic love for Catherine defies mortality, time and the capacities of humanity—and if that doesn’t give you goosebumps!
A few months later, Isabella, who has moved to London away from Heathcliff, gives birth to Linton. She will keep him by her side and raise him in London away from his father, while back in the moors, Nelly has been assigned to be nursemaid to the young Catherine or Cathy. Cathy is beautiful, head-strong and witty like her mother, but has a milder temperament matching her father. She has no knowledge of Wuthering Heights and her mother’s haunting history until she accidentally discovers the manor and meets Hareton when wandering the moors. Hareton and Cathy play together, and she looks up at the manor fondly. Soon a new occupant arrives at Wuthering Heights. Linton comes to leave with Heathcliff after Isabella’s death.
Linton is sickly and whiny, and Heathcliff does not have an ounce of love for him. He treats the boy even more cruelly than he did his mother, but has a purpose for him, though. It takes three years for Linton and Cathy to meet. Like his father, Linton charms Cathy and they start exchanging love letters and then sneaking out to meet. Linton’s weak nature seems to appeal to her, and he wants her to take care of him. But it is all part of Heathcliff’s ploy to take over Thrushcross Grange. When Cathy and Nelly visit Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff refuses to let them go unless Cathy marries Linton. By now, Heathcliff’s mental health has started to decline and he spends his time talking to Catherine’s ghost. Cathy, having no other choice, marries Linton, giving Heathcliff legal claim to the Lintons’ estate and completing his revenge on Edgar Linton.
Not long after their marriage, Edgar Linton and the sickly Linton Heathcliff die, leaving Heathcliff in charge of the two estates and Cathy. Heathcliff’s reception of Cathy is quite peculiar, he blames her for her mother’s death as well, but they are so alike, and he is fond of her in his own twisted ways. He keeps her there as a common servant in the manor, and that’s how Lockwood meets her. It is at that point that Lockwood is appalled and decides to go back to London. In the same year, Heathcliff, who is convinced Catherine is haunting him, has stopped eating and sleeping and is roaming the estate grounds at night. This leads to his tragic ending as a deranged man with no one to really mourn his loss.
Mr. Lockwood pays another visit to Wuthering Heights, where he learns of Heathcliff’s demise. During the time Cathy lives at Wuthering Heights, she and Hareton have become closer. She deeply regrets mocking him for his illiteracy some years back, and is even tutoring him how to read. Hareton is deeply neglected and hurt, but his kindness will be repaid once he and Cathy inherits both estates after Heathcliff’s death. Cathy and Hareton have come to love on another and will marry on the next New Year’s Day, finally breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect that has haunted both families. The story ends with Lockwood visiting Heathcliff’s and Catherine’s graves, who are buried together after Heathcliff had a part of Catherine’s coffin removed so he can be buried with her—the OG morally gray and insane male protagonist.
And thus concludes the detailed summary of Wuthering Heights! You can also visit our Wuthering Heights world for more content.
Emily Brontë published Wuthering heights under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. Just like her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, Emily was a revolutionary of her time, having been influenced by Shakespeare, John Milton and even Lord Byron’s poems. She included many complex themes in this British novel.
Let’s examine the major themes of the book!
The way the book is written, it is unclear whether the author intended for the reader to condemn Catherine and Heathcliff’s love as immoral or immortalize it as the ever-transcending love. Their love is dark, demonic, obsessive and, in the end, destructive—a quite subversive take on love. It’s what moves the plot and why everything happens. Even after Catherine’s passing, their love lives on as a phantom haunting Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff in particular. Brontë is determined to show both sides of the same coin and gives us the love story of Cathy and Hareton as a contradiction to Catherine and Heathcliff. Perhaps that is why the first love is condemned and can never be and the latter blooms after the first perishes.
Just like in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Catherine is a strong female protagonist with her own voice and personality. The way her flamboyant personality is developed in correlation to her toxic love with Heathcliff immediately takes away from the female persona. Just like her daughter, they are both subservient to love and Heathcliff’s whims. Cathy is trapped both literally and figuratively and the key to her freedom is the death of patriarchal authority, with Heathcliff as its last remnant. The presentation of domestic abuse and entrapment was quite the feat for the time the novel was written, and made the gothic tale a staple of romance and its ugly truths.
While Catherine is led by her ambition, Heathcliff is led by his desire for revenge. His obsession with Catherine is what motivates him, but his real goal is revenge. He is a deeply traumatized man and feels betrayed by the only person who loved him and accepted him. His thirst for vengeance is understandable, though, not justifiable. One does have to admire his meticulous and devious planning, though. Taking advantage of the social constrictions of the 19th century, he secures both wealth and power. However, it is sadly all futile! Catherine is long dead, and Heathcliff still talks to her apparition like it’s his only lifeline. In the end, he dies like the deranged and hated man that he is—and how sad is that?
One can say many things about Catherine, but at the end of the day, she was just a young woman who was looking for herself. She was in love with Heathcliff since he was twelve and married Edgar at seventeen. Constantly torn between her manic love for Heathcliff and her pleasant companionship with Edgar, her feelings constantly in limbo. Barely a woman herself, she dies at childbirth, being no closer to discovering her identity than she was before. On the other hand, Heathcliff does not know how to exist outside of Catherine’s sphere. His whole existence revolves around her love and when she dies, he conjures her spirit just to have a reason to exist. Young Cathy’s development and coming of age is also interesting, as she turns from a spoiled and entitled girl to a strong and independent woman.
Social class is what gave people power and choice at the time. Catherine was no fool, she came from a well-off family, but their land and estate pale in comparison to the Lintons. Determined to advance her place in life, she secures a strategic marriage with the Linton heir. She longs for society, wealth and wants to be “the greatest woman of the neighborhood”. Heathcliff is not the typical gentleman and even through Lockwood’s eyes—who comes from a more posh region of England, Wuthering Heights looks more like a farm than a lavish estate.
Unlike the romances of the period, Brontë chose to make this story a gothic tale rather than a fairy tale. Whispers in the wind, apparitions, phantom touches and steps in the middle of the night are all gothic elements employed to create an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere. Masterfully, all these elements only promote and highlight Heathcliff’s obsession with Catherine. Similarly to other gothic novels, most of these spooky circumstances have logical explanations.
Usually, we don’t go into such details, but due to this author’s great love for this Victorian masterpiece, here is a bonus section with the most common motifs in the book!
In case you haven’t noticed, everything in this book works in doubles. There are two families, two love interests, two marriages and so on. More specifically, Catherine is Isabella’s counterpart, one is wildfire, the other is grace. Heathcliff is dark and free-spirited, Edgar is polite and poised. Hareton is a sturdy young man, while Heathcliff’s son is always in a poor state.
Not only that, but there are two narrators; Nelly Dean and Mr. Lockwood, whose accumulation of stories comes from Nelly, Joseph the old servant and Zillah the housekeeper.
The weather in West Yorkshire is as tumultuous as the characters’ feelings. It’s stormy and moody when everyone is in upheaval or before important and plot-altering events like Catherine’s death or Lockwood’s coming to Wuthering Heights.
The moors are divided into two worlds. Wuthering Heights represents the untamed side of nature, while Thrushcross Grange represents culture and refinement. Similarly, its occupants follow the same pattern, until Catherine conforms with the Linton lifestyle and becomes a blend of the two. Hareton is the next to combine nature with culture once Catherine tutors him.
Apart from doubles, the book is a collection of parallels and circles. Cycles are repeated and the abuse and malice is constantly perpetuated. The repetition of the names of the characters, or a slightly different version of them, is an indication that events are repeated. Like Heathcliff’s cruelty to Hareton mirroring Heathcliff’s abuse from Hindley. Also, the two Catherines resembling each other, both being Heathcliff’s “victims” is another parallel. Linton dying and leaving Cathy alone, just like Catherine died and left Heathcliff alone. The novel is full of repeating events and sequences.
We have finally reached the end of this exploration of Wuthering Heights. The women of the nineteenth century produced some of the most liminal works of literature, including, Shelley’s Frankenstein, Eliot’s Middlemarch, Austen’s novels and all the Brontë sisters' novels and collections. If you haven’t read Wuthering Heights yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up!
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Many consider Wuthering Heights a love story, but it is far from the traditional love story. It presents the dark side of love and obsession, with raw passion, intrusive thoughts and even abuse. Although there are romantic elements such as longing and enduring desire, it would be most accurately described as a tragic, all-consuming, gothic love story.
Heathcliff is an ambiguous character, and can certainly be characterized as “bad”. He is dark, brooding, tortured, psychotic and cruel. His obsession with Catherine leads him to seek revenge, step on others and lose his humanity and joy. We must, however, consider that he was heavily abused and had a tragic childhood.
Heathcliff, a young orphan, is in love with Catherine, but due to her brother’s cruelty he flees Wuthering Heights. When he returns, Catherine is already married, but their love for each other is persistent. Tragically, Catherine dies in childbirth and Heathcliff makes it his life’s purpose to get revenge. After his beloved’s death, he believes he is haunted by her ghost. He traps his son and Catherine’s daughter to secure both estates, but alas he dies scorned and deranged, leaving everything to Cathy and Hareton, his abuser’s son.
Always living in her own enchanted little world, Christina discovered the magic that can be hidden within the pages of a book when one dares to take a closer look from a tender age. An avid reader, she is constantly inspired to delve into the secrets woven between the lines and challenges herself to find her own voice amidst the chaos. She is a dedicated fan of the classics, but the supernatural creatures that have tormented readers for years are her kryptonite. The mastery it takes to infuse the author's essence, molded by the era they grew up in to their innermost desires fascinates her. Undoubtedly, putting her passion and knowledge on paper has a mesmerizing allure on her, and following the steps of so many other dreamers before her she wishes to leave her mark in the literary world. Guided by T.S Eliot’s haunting words: “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” she intends to wreak havoc in the minds of her future readers.
