Nelly’s story ends as she reaches the present. Lockwood, appalled, ends his tenancy at Thrushcross Grange and returns to London. However, six months later, he pays a visit to Nelly, and learns of further developments in the story. Although Catherine originally mocked Hareton’s ignorance and illiteracy (in an act of retribution, Heathcliff ended Hareton’s education after Hindley died), Catherine grows to love Hareton as they live together at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff becomes more and more obsessed with the memory of the elder Catherine, to the extent that he begins speaking to her ghost. Everything he sees reminds him of her. Shortly after a night spent walking on the moors, Heathcliff dies. Hareton and young Catherine inherit Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, and they plan to be married on the next New Year’s Day. After hearing the end of the story, Lockwood goes to visit the graves of Catherine and Heathcliff.
Considered one of the most shocking novels of its time, “Wuthering Heights” was promptly rejected by the general Victorian public. It was considered vulgar, scandalous and generally improper. However, what the prim and proper Victorian society judged to be an outrage is now considered to be one of the most passionate and free novels in English literature. “Wuthering Heights”, much like its setting in the Yorkshire moors, is wild, untamed and free from rules. This might be considered a reflection of the author’s personality. Emily Brontё was born and brought up in the Yorkshire moors, away from the “civilised” world and its rules. She tries to explain how different the two worlds are in spite of being so close to each other through the character of Lockwood in the novel. Lockwood represents the genteel and well-mannered Victorian society that is so shocked at the roughness and violence of the moors, represented by Heathcliff. There are many more aspects of the author in the novel. Brontё’s mother had died when she was a baby. Therefore, she was raised knowing only the strict discipline of a devout Evangelical father. This obviously had a deep impact on Brontё as she has shown the example of motherless children in the novel several times. When Catherine’s mother dies leaving her with a father who doesn’t understand her (probably very similar to Brontё’s own father), when Cathy’s mother dies leaving her with a gentle and caring father but still sorely lacking a mother and when Hindley’s mother dies leaving him with an alcoholic father who hates him for living while his wife died.
As a child, Brontё was sent to the Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge where her elder sisters were already studying. This school was no better than her grim home. The policy of the school was to punish the students’ bodies in order to save their souls. This was another thing that governed Victorian society; the Puritan ideals that anything fun, beautiful or entertaining was evil while hard work, punishment and ignoring any earthly pleasures was saving your soul. This type of religion too deeply affected Brontё causing her invent the character of Joseph in “Wuthering Heights” who represents conventional religion. The rest of the novel is also peppered freely with references to religion and the church. Brontё also shows what she really thinks of these ideals through young Catherine’s diary that Lockwood mistakenly reads. This type of harsh treatment that she received in her early years may have also caused Brontё to create characters who purposely mocked these ideals of being God-fearing, forgiving and so on and so forth. F or example, Heathcliff who is referred to several times as the devil or Satan or Catherine who in spite of being married to Edgar carries out liaisons with Heathcliff.
When Brontё turned seventeen she attempted to live away from the moors and went to school at Roe Head where her sister, Charlotte, was teaching. The plan was a disaster. Brontё became seriously ill and had to return to her much-loved moors. She tried to break away from them once again when she left home to be a governess in 1837 but this attempt was a dismal failure. Her endeavour at going to study in Belgium in 1842 was met with equal success. Brontё realised that she could not take on the role that Victorian society expected her to and therefore she could never fit in. She could not bear to play the part of a refined, proper Victorian lady nor could she bear the imposition of strangers in her life. So she did the only thing tat she could. She escaped back to her moors. She escaped back to the only place that wasn’t governed by society’s rules, where anything was possible and where she could be truly herself. And just as she couldn’t adapt to the rules and restrictions of Victorian society, she knew that a true Victorian person wouldn’t be able to adapt to the wildness and total freedom of the moors. This is what she shows in “Wuthering Heights” through Lockwood whose genteel Victorian principles are shocked by the violence and wildness in the people of the moors.
“Wuthering Heights” also has many Gothic and Romantic aspects to it. Similar to the Gothic tradition, at the beginning of the story, we have very “set” heroes and villains, with Hindley being the nasty, jealous villain and Heathcliff being the hero. This is what the readers expect and Brontё gives it to them at the beginning. However, soon she begins to play with their minds. Heathcliff, far from being the perfect hero turns out to be a scoundrel and an even worse villain than Hindley. He is vengeful, spiteful and uses everyone mercilessly. According to the Romantic genre, the hero is one who at first seems to be cold, harsh and remote but is later shown to be kind, vulnerable and lovable. The readers of “Wuthering Heights” start to identify this sort of character in Heathcliff and keep on reading in the hope that soon, he would become the perfect Romantic hero. However, this never happens. It is almost as if Brontё wants to see how much more of Heathcliff’s cruelty her readers can take before they give up on him, similar to his wife Isabella.
Other Gothic elements of the book include the position of women in the book. All of them are dependant on a man and all of them suffer as a result of this. The position of the women in the novel also reflects the age that the book was written in. Women were thought of as property and were in completely under the control of their husbands or fathers and there are many examples of women who are in such a situation in the novel. Women also couldn’t inherit property and this is what allows Heathcliff to get ownership of Thrushcross Grange when he marries Isabella and to control it completely when he forces Cathy to marry Linton. There is also the idea of women as being helpless creatures who must always be protected and rescued. This is shown through Edgar and Isabella when Edgar prohibits her to meet Heathcliff. He obviously thinks he is protecting her but he is also taking away Isabella’s freedom of choice.
The most important Gothic element of the novel is its setting, Wuthering Heights. A big, old house set at the top a lonely hill, with no other houses nearby. It has “narrow windows”, “grotesque carvings” and unfriendly inhabitants. The interior is just as unwelcoming with fierce animals, little light and cold rooms. The weather and elements around the house are similar. The wind is fierce and storms are common. This is in complete contrast to Thrushcross Grange, which is described as “opulent”, “carpeted with crimson”, “beautiful”. The inhabitants of the two houses are complte opposites too. At the Heights, everyone is tougher and harder while the inhabitants of the Grange are softened and more civilised by all the luxury. It is a parallel that runs through the whole novel. The passionate Earnshaws versus the civilised Lintons. Incidents in the novel also suggest that either of the two families would never fit in at the other’s house. E.g. Before her death Catherine realises that the heights is the oly place that she wants to be at, Isabella goes “mad” at the Heights etc. The Yorkshire moors that the novel is set in are also very Gothic. They are wild, untamed; almost with a life of their own and the role they play is crucial in the story as they are a metaphor for all that Catherine and Heathcliff represent; passion, violence and a love that transcends even death.
“Wuthering Heights” also clearly shows the times it was written in with the references to supernatural and madness that liberally pepper the book. They would probably be seen as very old fashioned today but the give important insights about the characters and perhaps the author herself too. There are many instances of both in the book and they show us trends of the characters.
The first supernatural incident in the book occurs in chapter 3. Waking from a violent dream, Lockwood, who is sleeping in Catherine's bed, sees a ghost, “my fingers closed… on a little ice-cold hand…” It is a young girl who calls herself Catherine Linton. She begs to be let in and says that she has been wandering for twenty years, “Let me in!…..I’ve been a waif for twenty years…” It was about twenty years ago that Catherine Linton died, and Heathcliff begged her to haunt him until he died. The implications of this are that the ghost of Catherine did what Heathcliff asked and so has been wandering for twenty years just so that she could be near her beloved Heathcliff. This shows us that the love that Catherine and Heathcliff had for each other was so strong that it carried on beyond the grave.
The first incident of madness in the book follows after this. Heathcliff does not know that Lockwood is sleeping in Catherine's room. Therefore, when he hears the screaming, he thinks it is Catherine's ghost. He is sorely disappointed to see that it is Mr. Lockwood, and after he orders him to leave, Heathcliff opens the window and calls outside for his beloved, dead Catherine. He receives no answer.
The next supernatural incident occurs in chapter 9. Nelly, who claims not to believe in ghosts, does have some superstitions. She does not like to hear other people's dreams, and she refuses to hear Catherine's. Catherine suggests that it was a bad dream, maybe a prophecy. Catherine tells Nelly that she dreamed she was in heaven, and unhappy there. But Nelly stops her then, refusing to hear more. Catherine and Heathcliff are tightly connected, and Heathcliff has said that his heaven is not the religious kind, but an eternity with Catherine. Perhaps she is of the same opinion, and her dream foretold their sad end.
The incident that happens next shows both madness and supernatural and also happens in chapter 9. Heathcliff secretly leaves Wuthering Heights when he overhears Catherine say that it would degrade her to marry him. Guilty for what she said, Catherine looks for him even in the pouring rain. When he cannot be found, she becomes detached. But when Hindley starts to yell at her, Catherine has a fit of madness. The doctor is called, and does what he can. She is so mad and delusional, the doctor is fearful that she will kill herself. The night of Heathcliff's departure there is a terrible storm. Full of sorrow and guilt, Catherine refused to come inside from the drenching rain. Either the wailing winds or the thunderstorm broke a nearby tree in half, the sound terrifying Nelly and Joseph. Joseph thought the storm was a sign of the end, and Nelly wondered for once if Joseph was right.
The next incident of madness is in chapter 11. Heathcliff returns after Catherine's marriage. When he visits, he and Edgar Linton have a terrible fight, which upsets Catherine. She determines to become frenzied, which will hurt them both. Raging, she hit her head against the sofa and her lips became bloody. She was out of breath, and when Nelly told Edgar about his wife's decision to act madly, Catherine's rage hit its peak. Her muscles stood out irregularly, her eyes were wild, and Nelly feared she would turn violent.
The next supernatural incident also takes place in this chapter. One day when passing the road to Wuthering Heights, Nelly had a vision. Thinking about Hindley, she saw his young face, with his eyes staring into hers. She suddenly felt a need to go to the Heights, and make sure he was all right. Upon reaching the gates, she saw a boy who matched her phantom. It was Hareton, Hindley's son, whom she had cared for before moving to the Grange.
The madness incident after that happens in chapter 12. : Catherine refuses all food and drink for several days. She does not understand why she is not getting her way, and becomes paranoid that her former friends are now enemies. The knowledge that her husband has been in his library, seemingly unconcerned about her welfare, makes her hysterical. She feels alone in the world, and wishes to be out on the moors, or with her Heathcliff.
Catherine plucks the feathers from her pillow, and starts to confuse the past with the present. She recalls a time when Heathcliff shot a bird, leaving the babies to die.
Catherine talks about elf-bolts and cows, the black press, and her bed in the fairy cave. She talks as though she knows more than Nelly, as though she is better off. The black press turns out to be a mirror. Catherine, lost without her Heathcliff, cannot recognize her own reflection in the mirror. Afraid it is a ghost, she makes Nelly cover it.
The following is the next incidence of madness which happens in chapter 13. Hindley, crazed with the loss of his wife and his land, tells Isabella about his plan to kill Heathcliff. Every night he tries to open Heathcliff's bedroom door, and when one night it is unlocked, he plans to shoot him. He believes some kind of devil urges him to settle the score this way.
This is the incidence of madness that takes place in chapter 14. Heathcliff tells Nelly how blinded Isabella was to him, and how every act of meanness and violence just made her come back for more. He did nothing illegal, so she would have no grounds for divorce. Nelly is horrified at this speech and thinks Heathcliff is crazy.
Heathcliff suggests to Nelly that Isabella isn't capable of taking care of herself because she is crazy. Before coming to the Heights, Isabella never exhibited any such behaviour. It is only her association with Heathcliff that seems to have brought it out.
Chapter 15 has both incidents of madness and supernatural. Heathcliff insists he has another visit with Catherine, despite the disastrous effects of his last one. She is dying, and her face is wild and pale. He sees that she is mad, and it hurts to see her so tortured. They embraced almost violently, and Heathcliff foams at the mouth like a wild animal. After the fight between Heathcliff and Edgar, Catherine became mad. After her illness receded, she became listless, quiet, and pale. Her hair she wore loose down her back, and the calmness left by her illness made her beautiful in a strange, ghostly way.
There is another supernatural episode in chapter 16. Heathcliff has guessed that Catherine is dead even before Nelly tells him. He is greatly troubled by the fact that she never regained consciousness enough to ask for him before she died. Feeling cheated and alone, he begged and prayed that she would not be at peace. Since he cannot rest without her, he wants her ghost to haunt him until he dies. Unlike Linton, who is sorrowful but accepting of his wife's death, Heathcliff selfishly hopes that Catherine will have no peace without him.
Chapter 17 also has another supernatural occurrence. After Catherine's death, Isabella escapes to the Grange. She wants to leave Heathcliff, who has become mad since Catherine's death. He refuses all company, spending most of his time by the Grange. He is so interested in the dead that Isabella calls him a goblin. She is no longer sure if she married a man, a devil, or a ghost.
There is an incident of madness in chapter 28. Like her mother, Cathy's fits are frightening. She married Linton, but Heathcliff still has not released her. With her father near death, Cathy becomes crazy with the idea that she may not see him before he dies. Unlike her mother, whose fits were selfish and meant to hurt others, Cathy's arise from a fear of hurting her father. Her frenzy scares Linton so much that he agrees lets her out.
Chapter 29 has another supernatural incident. Heathcliff, with no respect for the dead, had the gravedigger open Catherine's coffin while he was preparing Edgar's. The coffin was opened, and Catherine's face looked the same as the day she died, nearly twenty years ago.
Desperate to be with her in death, he knocked out one side of her coffin, with the instructions that one side of his be knocked out too, so that they might lie together for eternity. He tells Nelly that without this measure, he would likely haunt them all.
Heathcliff also confessed to Nelly that right after Catherine's death he almost dug her up. He wanted to hold her again, and he had begun to dig when he heard a sigh nearby, and felt a warm breath at his ear. He was certain it was Cathy, not in the grave, but on earth! After that time he was constantly looking for her, and always expected to see her wherever he went. But though he often thought he felt her, she did not show herself again.
Chapter 34 also has both madness and supernatural. After nights of wandering the moors, and many days without food, Heathcliff is going mad. His face and eyes are altered; he seems excitable and agitated. There is also a strange happiness in his face. When he returns home the night before his death, Nelly hears him say Catherine's name as though she was present. She can also hear him mumbling in low tones, talking to someone who isn't there. He believes Catherine has been haunting him for years, and now that he is near death, he acts as though Catherine's spirit is closer than ever.
The next morning, Nelly was alone with Heathcliff during breakfast. He asked Nelly if they were alone, as his eyes fix on a person whom Nelly can't see. He is looking outside the house, and seemed troubled by what the ghost told him. Nelly saw nothing and tried again to get him to eat.
After a late-night walk on the moors, Nelly hears Heathcliff come inside. He is addressing Catherine, and speaking to her as though she were alive and present. The closer Heathcliff grows to death, the more contact he seems to have with Catherine's ghost.
Heathcliff gives another clue of Catherine's haunting when he tells Cathy that even if everyone else hated him, there was still one who would want his company, chasing him always.
When Nelly enters Heathcliff's room, his eyes seem to look intensely at her, and his lips to smile. But he is dead, and the window to the moors is wide open. His face looks so strangely happy that Nelly tries to close his eyes, but they will not. His expression of joy seems frozen for all eternity.
In the last chapter, we have the final incident of supernatural. Many townspeople believe Heathcliff is a ghost, and some claim to have met him along the moors, by the church, or in Wuthering Heights. Joseph also believes he has seen Heathcliff and Catherine looking out her window on rainy nights. One day, Nelly met a terrified shepherd, who was only a young boy. He claimed to have seen Heathcliff and a woman, who would not let him pass on the road. Nelly tries not to believe, but she still does not go out alone at night, or stay alone in the house if she can avoid it.
