Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Story of Wuthering Heights

• The story is told through flashbacks recorded in diary entries, with events presented out of chronological order.
• The novel's chronology is elaborately designed by Emily Brontë, with clues for reconstruction.

Timeline

• 1500: The stone above the front door of Wuthering Heights, bearing the name of Hareton Earnshaw, is inscribed.
• 1758: Nelly is born.
• ~1761: Heathcliff and Catherine are born.
• ~1767: Mr. Earnshaw brings Heathcliff to live at Wuthering Heights.
• 1774: Mr. Earnshaw sends Hindley away to college.
• 1777: Mr. Earnshaw dies; Hindley and Frances take possession of Wuthering Heights.
• 1778: Hareton is born in June; Frances dies; Hindley begins his slide into alcoholism.
• 1780: Catherine becomes engaged to Edgar Linton; Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights.
• 1783: Catherine and Edgar are married; Heathcliff arrives at Thrushcross Grange in September.
• 1784: Heathcliff and Isabella elope in the early part of the year; Catherine becomes ill with brain fever; her daughter Cathy is born late in the year; Catherine dies.
• 1785: Early in the year, Isabella flees Wuthering Heights and settles in London; Linton is born.
• ~1785: Hindley dies; Heathcliff inherits Wuthering Heights.
• ~1797: Young Cathy meets Hareton and visits Wuthering Heights for the first time; Linton comes from London after Isabella dies (in late 1797 or early 1798).
• 1800: Cathy stages her romance with Linton in the winter.
• 1801: Early in the year, Cathy is imprisoned by Heathcliff and forced to marry Linton; Edgar Linton dies; Linton dies; Heathcliff assumes control of Thrushcross Grange.
• Late in the year, Lockwood rents the Grange from Heathcliff and begins his tenancy.

Key Characters

• Heathcliff: An orphan boy brought to live at Wuthering Heights, treated as a common laborer by Hindley, and later seeks revenge.
• Catherine: The daughter of Mr. Earnshaw, who becomes engaged to Edgar Linton and later dies.
• Cathy: Catherine's daughter, who is beautiful and headstrong, and grows up at the Grange.
• Hareton: The son of Hindley and Frances, who is raised as a common servant by Heathcliff.
• Nelly: The housekeeper at Wuthering Heights, who tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine.
• Lockwood: The tenant of Thrushcross Grange, who meets Heathcliff and Nelly, and begins to write down Nelly's story.

Themes

• The Destructiveness of a Love That Never Changes: Catherine and Heathcliff's passion for each other is stronger and more lasting than any other emotion in the novel.
• The Futility of Revenge: Heathcliff's pursuit of revenge leaves him empty and exhausted, and he remains unfulfilled in his true desire.
• Injustice Versus the Necessity of the Class System: The novel presents social class as an arbitrary distinction, but also shows disruptions to social class as negative forces.
• The Precariousness of Social Class: The social status of the gentry, including the Earnshaws and Lintons, is fragile and subject to change.