8/12/2019 Wuthering height

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wuthering-height 1/2

Wuthering height

In the late winter months of 1801, a man named Lockwood rents a manor house called Thrushcross Grange in the isolated moor country ofEngland. ere, he meets his dour landlord, eathcliff, a wealthy man who li!es in the ancient manor of Wuthering eights, four miles awayfrom the Grange. In this wild, stormy countryside, Lockwood asks his housekee"er, #elly $ean, to tell him the story of eathcliff and thestrange deni%ens of Wuthering eights. #elly consents, and Lockwood writes down his recollections of her tale in his diary& these writtenrecollections form the main "art of Wuthering Heights .

#elly remem'ers her childhood. (s a young girl, she works as a ser!ant at Wuthering eights for the owner of the manor, )r. Earnshaw, andhis family. *ne day, )r. Earnshaw goes to Li!er"ool and returns home with an or"han 'oy whom he will raise with his own children. (t first,the Earnshaw children+a 'oy named indley and his younger sister atherine+detest the dark-skinned eathcliff. ut atherine /uicklycomes to lo!e him, and the two soon grow inse"ara'le, s"ending their days "laying on the moors. (fter his wife s death, )r. Earnshaw growsto "refer eathcliff to his own son, and when indley continues his cruelty to eathcliff, )r. Earnshaw sends indley away to college, kee"ing

eathcliff near'y.

Three years later, )r. Earnshaw dies, and indley inherits Wuthering eights. e returns with a wife, rances, and immediately seeksre!enge on eathcliff. *nce an or"han, later a "am"ered and fa!ored son, eathcliff now finds himself treated as a common la'orer, forced towork in the fields. eathcliff continues his close relationshi" with atherine, howe!er. *ne night they wander to Thrushcross Grange, ho"ingto tease Edgar and Isa'ella Linton, the cowardly, sno''ish children who li!e there. atherine is 'itten 'y a dog and is forced to stay at theGrange to recu"erate for fi!e weeks, during which time )rs. Linton works to make her a "ro"er young lady. y the time atherine returns, she

has 'ecome infatuated with Edgar, and her relationshi" with eathcliff grows more com"licated.

When rances dies after gi!ing 'irth to a 'a'y 'oy named areton, indley descends into the de"ths of alcoholism, and 'eha!es e!en morecruelly and a'usi!ely toward eathcliff. E!entually, atherine s desire for social ad!ancement "rom"ts her to 'ecome engaged to EdgarLinton, des"ite her o!er"owering lo!e for eathcliff. eathcliff runs away from Wuthering eights, staying away for three years, and returningshortly after atherine and Edgar s marriage.

When eathcliff returns, he immediately sets a'out seeking re!enge on all who ha!e wronged him. a!ing come into a !ast and mysteriouswealth, he de!iously lends money to the drunken indley, knowing that indley will increase his de'ts and fall into dee"er des"ondency.When indley dies, eathcliff inherits the manor. e also "laces himself in line to inherit Thrushcross Grange 'y marrying Isa'ella Linton,whom he treats !ery cruelly. atherine 'ecomes ill, gi!es 'irth to a daughter, and dies. eathcliff 'egs her s"irit to remain on Earth+she maytake whate!er form she will, she may haunt him, dri!e him mad+2ust as long as she does not lea!e him alone. 3hortly thereafter, Isa'ella

flees to London and gi!es 'irth to eathcliff s son, named Linton after her family. 3he kee"s the 'oy with her there.

Thirteen years "ass, during which #elly $ean ser!es as atherine s daughter s nursemaid at Thrushcross Grange. 4oung atherine is'eautiful and headstrong like her mother, 'ut her tem"erament is modified 'y her father s gentler influence. 4oung atherine grows u" at theGrange with no knowledge of Wuthering eights& one day, howe!er, wandering through the moors, she disco!ers the manor, meets areton,and "lays together with him. 3oon afterwards, Isa'ella dies, and Linton comes to li!e with eathcliff. eathcliff treats his sickly, whining sone!en more cruelly than he treated the 'oy s mother.

Three years later, atherine meets eathcliff on the moors, and makes a !isit to Wuthering eights to meet Linton. 3he and Linton 'egin asecret romance conducted entirely through letters. When #elly destroys atherine s collection of letters, the girl 'egins sneaking out at nightto s"end time with her frail young lo!er, who asks her to come 'ack and nurse him 'ack to health. owe!er, it /uickly 'ecomes a""arent thatLinton is "ursuing atherine only 'ecause eathcliff is forcing him to& eathcliff ho"es that if atherine marries Linton, his legal claim u"on

Thrushcross Grange+and his re!enge u"on Edgar Linton+will 'e com"lete. *ne day, as Edgar Linton grows ill and nears death, eathclifflures #elly and atherine 'ack to Wuthering eights, and holds them "risoner until atherine marries Linton. 3oon after the marriage, Edgardies, and his death is /uickly followed 'y the death of the sickly Linton. eathcliff now controls 'oth Wuthering eights and ThrushcrossGrange. e forces atherine to li!e at Wuthering eights and act as a common ser!ant, while he rents Thrushcross Grange to Lockwood.

#elly s story ends as she reaches the "resent. Lockwood, a""alled, ends his tenancy at Thrushcross Grange and returns to London.owe!er, si5 months later, he "ays a !isit to #elly, and learns of further de!elo"ments in the story. (lthough atherine originally mockedareton s ignorance and illiteracy 6in an act of retri'ution, eathcliff ended areton s education after indley died7, atherine grows to lo!eareton as they li!e together at Wuthering eights. eathcliff 'ecomes more and more o'sessed with the memory of the elder atherine, to

the e5tent that he 'egins s"eaking to her ghost. E!erything he sees reminds him of her. 3hortly after a night s"ent walking on the moors,eathcliff dies. areton and young atherine inherit Wuthering eights and Thrushcross Grange, and they "lan to 'e married on the ne5t

#ew 4ear s $ay. (fter hearing the end of the story, Lockwood goes to !isit the gra!es of atherine and eathcliff.

8/12/2019 Wuthering height

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wuthering-height 2/2

Chronology

The story of Wuthering Heights is told through flash'acks recorded in diary entries, and e!ents are often "resented out of chronological order +Lockwood s narrati!e takes "lace after #elly s narrati!e, for instance, 'ut is inters"ersed with #elly s story in his 2ournal. #e!ertheless, theno!el contains enough clues to ena'le an a""ro5imate reconstruction of its chronology, which was ela'orately designed 'y Emily ront . orinstance, Lockwood s diary entries are recorded in the late months of 1801 and in 3e"tem'er 1809& in 1801, #elly tells Lockwood that she hasli!ed at Thrushcross Grange for eighteen years, since atherine s marriage to Edgar, which must then ha!e occurred in 1:8;. We know that

atherine was engaged to Edgar for three years, and that #elly was twenty-two when they were engaged, so the engagement must ha!etaken "lace in 1:80, and #elly must ha!e 'een 'orn in 1:<8. 3ince #elly is a few years older than atherine, and since Lockwood commentsthat eathcliff is a'out forty years old in 1801, it stands to reason that eathcliff and atherine were 'orn around 1:=1, three years after #elly.There are se!eral other clues like this in the no!el 6such as areton s 'irth, which occurs in >une, 1::87. The following chronology is 'ased onthose clues, and should closely a""ro5imate the timing of the no!el s im"ortant e!ents. ( ?@A 'efore a date indicates that it cannot 'e "reciselydetermined from the e!idence in the no!el, 'ut only closely estimated.1500 - The stone a'o!e the front door of Wuthering eights, 'earing the name of areton Earnshaw, is inscri'ed, "ossi'ly to mark thecom"letion of the house.

1758 - #elly is 'orn.~1761 - eathcliff and atherine are 'orn.~1767 - )r. Earnshaw 'rings eathcliff to li!e at Wuthering eights.1774 - )r. Earnshaw sends indley away to college.

1777 - )r. Earnshaw dies& indley and rances take "ossession of Wuthering eights& atherine first !isits Thrushcross Grange aroundhristmastime.

1778 - areton is 'orn in >une& rances dies& indley 'egins his slide into alcoholism.1780 - atherine 'ecomes engaged to Edgar Linton& eathcliff lea!es Wuthering eights.1783 - atherine and Edgar are married& eathcliff arri!es at Thrushcross Grange in 3e"tem'er.1784 - eathcliff and Isa'ella elo"e in the early "art of the year& atherine 'ecomes ill with 'rain fe!er& young atherine is 'orn late in theyear& atherine dies.1785 - Early in the year, Isa'ella flees Wuthering eights and settles in London& Linton is 'orn.~1785 - indley dies& eathcliff inherits Wuthering eights.~1797 - 4oung atherine meets areton and !isits Wuthering eights for the first time& Linton comes from London after Isa'ella dies 6in late

1:B: or early 1:B87.1800 - 4oung atherine stages her romance with Linton in the winter.1801 - Early in the year, young atherine is im"risoned 'y eathcliff and forced to marry Linton& Edgar Linton dies& Linton dies& eathcliffassumes control of Thrushcross Grange. Late in the year, Lockwood rents the Grange from eathcliff and 'egins his tenancy. In a winterstorm, Lockwood takes ill and 'egins con!ersing with #elly $ean.1801–1802 - $uring the winter, #elly narrates her story for Lockwood.1802 - In s"ring, Lockwood returns to London& atherine and areton fall in lo!e& eathcliff dies& Lockwood returns in 3e"tem'er and hearsthe end of the story from #elly.1803 - *n #ew 4ear s $ay, young atherine and areton "lan to 'e married.