The theme of the afterlife is repeated all throughout the novel, and is especially reiterated by the fact that Heathcliff had lost Catherine due to consumption. The idea that she could be a ghost is magnified by the fact that Heathcliff had actually seen the ghost himself at the window, and it was Catherine.
‘Come in! Come in! He sobbed. Cathy, do come. Oh do once more! Oh! My heart’s darling! Hear me this time, Catherine, at last!’
(Page 23)
This is also evidence that the dream that Lockwood had was not a dream, but was really the ghost of Catherine Linton. The evidence for this is above where Heathcliff himself goes to the window and calls out to Catherine, almost as if she had been their before but still had not come in through the window.
The importance this has towards the novel is that it shows that there is more to the Heights and the moors than just a feeling of the paranormal. There really is a ghost haunting the heights, and this entraps the reader by making them believe that there is more to the novel than just the basic story line. The other reason is that Brontë is trying to emphasise just how much Catherine was in love with Heathcliff.
‘That is not my Heathcliff. I shall love mine yet; and take him with me: he’s in my soul.’
(Page 137)
What Catherine is saying here is that she loves Heathcliff so much that even when she dies she will always be with him, and she will always have him in her soul. The significance is that she does actually appear at the window to Heathcliff showing that her love is so strong that she will remain with him forever. What is interesting is that she never does come in through the window, she remains outside. This could mean that she does not want ton enter the mortal world again, but would rather wait for him to come to her.
Ghosts are also used in order to explain a character’s personality, and they are used to create suspense in the novel. Brontë uses the presence of ghosts to try and give the reader a greater understanding of Nelly’s character. We are told that she is superstitious, but it is not until she feels the presence of something she thinks of as Hindley that the reader fully understands the extent of her fears and beliefs.
‘It appeared that I beheld my early playmate seated on the withered turf: his dark square head bent forward, and his little hand scooping out the earth with a piece of slate…It vanished in a twinkling; but immediately I felt an irresistible yearning to be at the heights.’ (Page 92)
Nelly is very shaken by the whole experience, and the fact that her superstition took hold of her, and urged her to the Heights shows that she is very compassionate of her friendship with Hindley as this spot that she saw him in was ‘a favourite spot twenty years before’.
Brontë also uses this particular part of the novel to express a certain element of excitement toward the reader. Up until that point in the novel, besides Lockwood’s experience with the ghost of Catherine Linton, there had been few instances where there was a sense of real danger and excitement, and this part is used to this effect.
‘Superstition urged me to comply with this impulse: supposing he should be dead! I thought-or should die soon! -Supposing it were a sign of death! The nearer I got to the house the more agitated I grew; and catching sight of it I trembled in every limb’. (Page 92)
The above extract is exciting and gripping, and the reader would wonder what exactly had happened to Hindley, and what would have happened if Nelly were to be right. This particular chapter (11) there is a sign of death because Edgar has realised that his death is imminent. This could be the sign that was given to Nelly by the ghost in the hole she saw. That is was not the death of Hindley that was close but rather that of the death of Edgar.
The final instance of ghost occurs near to the end of the novel when Catherine and Heathcliff are both dead. There were reports that they had been seen running over the moors together. The significance of this is that it reiterates that of life after death, and in this case the love that Catherine and Heathcliff had for each other still goes on even though they are both deceased.
‘There’s Heathcliff and a woman, yonder, under t’ nab,’ he blubbered, ‘un’ I dare not pass ‘em.’ (Page 288)
The primary importance of this sighting of the ghost is that it could actually be real. The evidence for this was that the moors were very much a favourite place for Heathcliff and Catherine to go walking. This is important because it shows that their love for each other has lasted until after their death.
The most important piece of evidence for these ghosts being real is that ‘neither the sheep would go on’ with the boy. As human kind we always say that animals do have a sixth sense and that they can detect the ghosts and other spirits which new cannot. Brontë has used ideas like the sheep so that the reader can gain a real perspective of what was on the moors, and of course how strong the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff really was.