Wuthering Heights (AmazonClassics Edition) recap

Tenant Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to explain the hostile household at Wuthering Heights. Nelly recounts how the orphan Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw formed an intense childhood bond, but Catherine married the genteel Edgar Linton. Heathcliff returned after an unexplained absence and pursued revenge: he married Edgar's sister Isabella, gained Wuthering Heights from Catherine's ruined brother Hindley, and later used his sickly son Linton to seize Thrushcross Grange. Catherine died after giving birth to Cathy, leaving Heathcliff consumed by grief and obsession. In the next generation, Heathcliff forced Cathy to marry Linton, then kept her at the Heights after both Linton and Edgar died. His plan weakens when Cathy befriends Hareton, Hindley's neglected son, and teaches him to read. As they fall in love, Heathcliff loses interest in revenge, becomes preoccupied with Catherine's presence, and dies. Cathy and Hareton prepare to marry and leave the Heights, ending the cycle of hostility.

In 1801, Lockwood rents Thrushcross Grange in the Yorkshire countryside and visits his landlord, Heathcliff, at the remote Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is forbidding, and the other residents are equally difficult: a bitter young woman, the proud and roughly mannered Hareton Earnshaw, and the hostile servant Joseph. Lockwood repeatedly guesses their relationships incorrectly. Snow forces him to stay overnight, and the housekeeper Zillah puts him in a room normally kept closed. There he finds old childhood writings bearing the names Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Heathcliff, and Catherine Linton. After a nightmare, he believes a childlike ghost named Catherine is trying to enter through the window. Heathcliff is shaken when he hears what happened and begs the absent Catherine to return. Lockwood leaves the next day with the sense that the present household is shaped by a painful history.

Back at Thrushcross Grange, Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, for the families' history. She explains that the late Mr. Earnshaw brought an abandoned boy home and named him Heathcliff. Catherine Earnshaw quickly became Heathcliff's closest companion, while her brother Hindley hated him. After Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley returned as master with his wife Frances, ended Heathcliff's education, and reduced him to farm labor. Catherine and Heathcliff remained inseparable until an adventure at Thrushcross Grange left Catherine injured and staying with the genteel Linton family. She returned more polished and became close to Edgar Linton, widening the social gap between herself and Heathcliff. Frances died after giving birth to Hareton, and Hindley sank into drink and violence. Edgar proposed to Catherine. She told Nelly that she loved Heathcliff deeply but believed marrying him would lower her position, not realizing that Heathcliff heard only the rejection before fleeing. Catherine searched for him in a storm, became seriously ill, and later married Edgar. Three years pass with Heathcliff still absent.

Lockwood has learned that Heathcliff and Catherine grew up together under Hindley's abuse, but Catherine chose to marry Edgar Linton and Heathcliff disappeared. He now returns unexpectedly, educated in manner and apparently wealthy, and begins visiting both households. Catherine welcomes him with intense happiness. Edgar distrusts him, while Edgar's sister Isabella becomes infatuated. Heathcliff encourages her interest as a means of injuring Edgar and also takes advantage of Hindley's gambling and desperation to gain financial control over Wuthering Heights. Conflict at the Grange drives Catherine into a prolonged illness while Heathcliff elopes with Isabella. Isabella soon discovers that he does not love her and writes to Nelly describing the violent, miserable life at the Heights. Nelly helps Heathcliff enter the Grange for a final meeting with the gravely ill and pregnant Catherine. The two blame and embrace each other, each treating separation as unbearable. Catherine gives birth to a daughter, Cathy, and dies soon afterward. Heathcliff responds with anguish, wishing Catherine unable to rest while he remains alive.

After Catherine's death, Isabella escapes Wuthering Heights and later raises her son, Linton, away from Heathcliff. Hindley dies ruined, leaving the Heights and the young Hareton under Heathcliff's control. Heathcliff deliberately denies Hareton education and status, repeating Hindley's treatment of him. Edgar raises Cathy at Thrushcross Grange in seclusion. At thirteen she wanders to the Heights and meets Hareton, whose family connection and rough upbringing confuse her. When Isabella dies, Edgar brings the delicate, complaining Linton to the Grange, but Heathcliff immediately demands his son. Nelly delivers the frightened boy to Wuthering Heights. About three years later Cathy encounters Heathcliff and Hareton on the moors and is taken to the Heights, where she renews her acquaintance with Linton. Heathcliff tells Nelly that he wants the cousins to marry so that Linton will inherit Edgar's property and place it within Heathcliff's reach. Edgar forbids Cathy from returning after she learns how Heathcliff treated Isabella, but Cathy and Linton begin a secret correspondence.

Heathcliff has gained Wuthering Heights, degraded Hareton, and begun using his son Linton to obtain Thrushcross Grange through Cathy. With Edgar seriously ill, Cathy resumes contact with Linton. His weakness, fear, and self-pity make their meetings unhappy, but Heathcliff pressures both young people to continue. Cathy secretly visits the Heights until Nelly discovers the visits and tells Edgar. Hoping Cathy will have companionship after his death, Edgar eventually permits carefully limited meetings on the moor. Linton arrives increasingly ill and terrified of disappointing his father. At a later meeting Heathcliff forces Cathy and Nelly into Wuthering Heights and imprisons them, refusing release until Cathy marries Linton. The marriage takes place while Edgar is dying. Linton reluctantly helps Cathy escape in time to see her father once more, and Edgar dies with Cathy beside him. Because Cathy is now Linton's wife, she cannot inherit the Grange independently, leaving Heathcliff's plan close to completion.

Lockwood's inquiry has uncovered Heathcliff's long revenge against both families. After being forced to marry Linton and losing Edgar, Cathy is confined at Wuthering Heights. Linton soon dies, leaving Heathcliff in control of both estates. Cathy initially treats Hareton with contempt because he cannot read, while Hareton is proud, defensive, and drawn to her despite her ridicule. Lockwood leaves the district, then returns months later and finds Nelly installed at the Heights. She explains that Cathy apologized to Hareton, began teaching him, and formed a warm partnership with him. They plan to marry and move to Thrushcross Grange. Their affection frustrates Heathcliff's design because Hareton resembles the people he has hated and loved, while Cathy revives memories of her mother. Rather than continue separating them, Heathcliff loses interest in revenge. He becomes convinced that Catherine is near, withdraws from ordinary life, stops eating, and is found dead in Catherine's old room after wandering outside. He is buried beside Catherine and Edgar. Hareton grieves for the man who raised him, but his future with Cathy offers an end to the inherited cruelty. Lockwood visits the graves before leaving; the landscape is peaceful, though local tales claim that Catherine and Heathcliff wander the moors together.

After Cathy and Hareton become friends, she teaches him to read and he answers her earlier contempt with patience. Their affection gives both young people a way out of the isolation and inherited hostility of Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff initially objects, but his revenge has lost its purpose. He becomes increasingly absorbed by the sense that Catherine is near, stops eating, wanders on the moors, and dies in Catherine's old room. He is buried beside Catherine and Edgar, according to the arrangement he had long desired. Hareton mourns him despite the abuse and deprivation he suffered under Heathcliff's control. Cathy and Hareton plan to marry on New Year's Day and move to Thrushcross Grange, leaving Wuthering Heights to Joseph. When Lockwood visits the three graves, the moors appear quiet, although local stories claim that Heathcliff and Catherine still wander together.