Wuthering Heights Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Wuthering Heights tells of Heathcliff, a foundling raised at a Yorkshire farmhouse, and his wild love for Catherine Earnshaw. When she marries the gentle Edgar Linton instead, Heathcliff spends the rest of his life taking revenge on both families, until the next generation finds its own way to peace.
The story is told mostly by the housekeeper Nelly Dean to a tenant, Mr. Lockwood.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Heathcliff | Dark foundling who loves Catherine |
| Catherine Earnshaw | Heathcliff's kindred spirit, who marries Edgar |
| Edgar Linton | Gentle heir of Thrushcross Grange |
| Hindley Earnshaw | Catherine's brother, who hates Heathcliff |
| Isabella Linton | Edgar's sister, who marries Heathcliff |
| Cathy Linton | Catherine and Edgar's daughter |
| Hareton Earnshaw | Hindley's son |
| Linton Heathcliff | Heathcliff and Isabella's sickly son |
| Nelly Dean | Housekeeper and narrator |
How does the story begin?
In 1801 Mr. Lockwood rents Thrushcross Grange and visits his landlord, Heathcliff, at the farmhouse Wuthering Heights. Snowed in overnight, he dreams of a ghostly girl at the window calling herself Catherine Linton. Back at the Grange, the housekeeper Nelly Dean tells him the history.
↑ Back to the topHow did Heathcliff come to the Heights?
Decades earlier, Mr. Earnshaw brought home a ragged orphan boy from Liverpool and named him Heathcliff. His daughter Catherine became inseparable from him, but his son Hindley hated the boy. When Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley took over and treated Heathcliff as a servant.
↑ Back to the topWhy does Catherine marry Edgar?
Catherine spends weeks at Thrushcross Grange after a dog bite and comes back a young lady. Edgar Linton proposes. She tells Nelly she loves Heathcliff as part of herself, but marrying him would degrade her. Heathcliff overhears only that part and disappears. Three years later he returns rich and educated. Catherine has married Edgar. Heathcliff begins his revenge: he gambles away Hindley's property, elopes with Edgar's sister Isabella out of spite and treats her cruelly.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Catherine?
Torn between the two men, Catherine falls into a feverish illness. Heathcliff sees her one last time, and the next night she gives birth to a daughter, Cathy, and dies. Heathcliff begs her spirit to haunt him. Isabella flees to the south and gives birth to a son, Linton. Hindley dies, leaving Heathcliff master of the Heights and of Hindley's son Hareton, whom he raises rough and uneducated as he himself was treated.
↑ Back to the topHow does Heathcliff complete his revenge?
After Isabella's death, Heathcliff takes the frail Linton. He lures young Cathy to the Heights, holds her prisoner and forces her to marry Linton while her father Edgar is dying. Edgar dies, Linton soon follows, and Heathcliff now owns both houses. Cathy lives at the Heights, bitter and proud.
↑ Back to the topHow does Wuthering Heights end?
Lockwood leaves and returns a year later to find everything changed. Cathy has begun teaching Hareton to read, and they have fallen in love. Heathcliff has lost his desire for revenge. He is haunted by Catherine's presence, stops eating and is found dead in his room by the open window. He is buried beside Catherine, as he wished. Cathy and Hareton plan to marry, and local people say they have seen the ghosts of Heathcliff and Catherine walking on the moors.
↑ Back to the topMore about Wuthering Heights
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.