HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

Khadija Tahir 98.

Momna Raheem 100.
BS English (eve).
Section B.
Dr. Rashid.
12-04-19.
 ‘Wuthering Heights’
By Emily Bronte

Summary:
It is a story of Love-Hate and Vengeance. The story begins with Lockwood, a tenant at
Thrushcross Grange in England, meets Heathcliff, who is a rude, mannerless man in his mid
50s living in his own farmhouse ‘Wuthering Heights’. Lockwood visits his landlord, also
Heathcliff and is forced to stay a night there because of severe snow storm. Zillah, a very young
girl, who also lives there, shows him a bedroom for night stay, there he sees a ghostly Catherine,
whose name is written on the wall near window. Being horrified, he screams and on coming of
Mr. Heathcliff he explains the whole scenario. Mr. Heathcliff asks him to rest in his room. But
after his visit to wuthering heights, Lockwood becomes ill. While being confined to bed, he gets
to know about the whole story of Heathcliff by his housekeeper Nelly Dean who is also looking
after him.

Thirty years earlier, the owner of Wuthering Heights was Mr. Earnshaw who had a son Hindley
and a daughter Catherine. Earnshaw’s wife had died giving birth to Catherine. One day, Mr.
Earnshaw goes to Liverpool and adopts an orphan boy and names him Heathcliff. Mr. Earnshaw
often prefers Heathcliff over his own son Hindley and as a reaction, Hindley mistreats him.
However, Catherine and Heathcliff grow closer and spend most of their time together. After 3
years, when Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley becomes the new owner of house and only allows
Heathcliff to stay if he serves for them. One day Catherine and Heathcliff goes to Thrushcross
Grange to tease Edgar and Isabella Linton, who live there. Catherine gets bitten by a dog and is
forced to stay there for five weeks till her recovery. She gets really inspired by the high standards
of Lintons and on returning home she seems changed. Meanwhile her relationship with
Heathcliff becomes complicated. She laughs at the poor Heathcliff and admired Edgar over him.
One day, on Lintons visit to Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff dresses up to impress Catherine but
gets insulted by Hindley. Humiliated again, Heathcliff vows to take revenge.

Same year, Hindley is gifted with a son, Hareton but his wife dies after few months.
Heartbroken Hindley falls in the habit of drinking and couldn’t look after home. After two years,
Catherine and Edgar Linton become lovers but her love for Heathcliff is far more than her love
for Edgar. She tells Nelly (the housekeeper) that she loves Heathcliff more but cannot marry him
because he’s so low class and illiterate. Heathcliff overhears the part of her speaking of his low
status and leaves Wuthering Heights without informing.
After 3 years, Catherine and Edgar gets married and start living at Thrushcross Grange. Six
months later Heathcliff returns as a wealthy man. Edgar’s sister Isabella falls in love with
Heathcliff, on the other hand, he flirts with her to seek revenge. Catherine tries to talk some
sense in Heathcliff but Edgar overhears them talking and tells Catherine not to meet him any
more. Catherine (pregnant at that time) confines herself in her room and falls ill.

Heathcliff starts living in Wuthering Heights, teaching Hindley bad things. When Hindley dies,
Heathcliff inherits his house because Hindley had much debt upon him and marries Isabella
Linton but mistreats her. Catherine gives birth to a girl Cathy, and dies. Soon after her funeral,
Isabella leaves for south of England, there she gives birth to Heathcliff’s child Linton, but keeps
him with herself. Some years later, after her death, Linton starts living with Heathcliff at
Wuthering Heights. But is treated by his father with more cruelty than his mother had once
beared.

12 years later, Cathy, a headstrong girl like her mother starts taking interest in Wuthering
Heights and it’s mysterious history. She meets Heathcliff and visits Wuthering Heights to meet
Linton (also her cousin). They build a secret relationship. Heathcliff takes hostage of Cathy and
forces her to marry Linton to take Thrushcross Grange. After some time, when she escapes from
there, her father dies. Soon after her husband (Linton) also dies. Heathcliff forces Cathy to live in
Wuthering Heights and rents Thrushcross Grange to Lockwood.

In present, After hearing the story of Heathcliff and his revenge, Lockwood leaves for London
but returns back some time later and get to know that Cathy and Hareton have come closer.
Heathcliff gets visions of Catherine and is soo found dead in Catherine’s room. He’s also buried
next to Catherine. While the two love birds, Cathy and Hareton are going to get married soon.

Before leaving again for London, Lockwood visits graves of Catherine and Heathcliff.