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Wuthering Heights Facts & Worksheets

Wuthering Heights was a popular yet disturbing masterpiece of the nineteenth century. A story of passionate love and vengeance.

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Wuthering Heights was a popular yet disturbing masterpiece of the nineteenth century. A story of passionate love and vengeance. Its Byronic hero, Heathcliff, spurs so much anger throughout the novel and can leave an unsettling feeling with its readers. Wuthering Heights is a deeply tragic work of a reclusive author, Emily Bronte.

See the fact file below for more information on the Wuthering Heights or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Wuthering Heights worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EMILY BRONTE’S LIFE

  • Emily Bronte was an English novelist born on July 30, 1818, in Thornton, Yorkshire.
  • Her sisters Charlotte Bronte and Anne Bronte also enjoyed literary success and her father published several works during his time.
  • She used Ellis Bell as her pseudonym when she published Wuthering Heights in 1947.
  • When she was twenty years old, Emily became a teacher at Law Hill School.
  • Emily was known to have a solitary and reclusive nature.
  • Emily Bronte died of tuberculosis on December 19, 1848.

THE CHARACTERS

  • Heathcliff – a child Mr. Earnshaw found in Liverpool and brought home. The boy was treated as part of the family until Mr. Earnshaw died. He was very close to Catherine Earnshaw but hated by Hindley Earnshaw. Heathcliff ran away when he overheard Catherine saying how her status would be degraded if she chose to marry him. He came back a wealthy and cruel man who sought revenge against everyone who wronged him.
  • Catherine Earnshaw – the daughter of Mr. Earnshaw, who fell in love with Heathcliff. Despite this, she chose to marry Edgar Linton for social advancement. She regretted her actions, which became more apparent when Heathcliff returned after three years.
  • Hindley Earnshaw – jealous son of Mr. Earnshaw and the resentful brother of Catherine Earnshaw. He made Heathcliff’s life difficult after their father died. He succumbed to alcohol after his wife died and neglected their son.
  • Edgar Linton – Catherine Earnshaw’s husband. He was mild-mannered and had a great sense of right or wrong, although he was quite dull for Catherine’s taste.
  • Isabella Linton – sister of Edgar Linton and suffering wife of Heathcliff. She fell in love with Heathcliff without knowing the latter’s real intention.
  • Catherine (Cathy) Linton – daughter of Catherine and Edgar. She resembled her mother physically and got her spirits.
  • Linton Heathcliff – son of Isabella and Heathcliff. He was in bad health throughout the book.
  • Hareton Earnshaw – son of Hindley and Frances. He grew up in Wuthering Heights, with nobody caring and tending for his needs after Catherine got married. Heathcliff refused to educate him as part of his revenge. He lacked education, was uncivilized and became a recipient of Catherine Linton’s insults, as he didn’t know how to read.
  • Nelly Dean – the narrator of the book. Trusted servant of the Earnshaws and later the Lintons.
  • Lockwood – a lessee of the Thrushcross Grange to whom Nelly told the story.
  • Frances – Hindley Earnshaw’s wife and Hareton’s mother.

THE PLOT

  • Lockwood rented a manor called Thrushcross Grange to a wealthy brooding man, Heathcliff, who also owns and lives in Wuthering Heights.
  • Curious about his landlord, he asks Nelly, a long time servant who served in both manors, about him and the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Nelly consented, and Lockwood wrote her narrative in his diary.
  • Mr. Earnshaw brought Heathcliff to Wuthering Heights, intending to raise him along with his son, Hindley, and daughter, Catherine.
  • Hindley grew up despising Heathcliff.
  • Mr. Earnshaw sent Hindley away to college as punishment for being cruel to Heathcliff. Catherine did not like Heathcliff at first, but she grew to love him. They spent most of their time together. Mr. Earnshaw treated Heathcliff as one of his sons.
  • When Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley inherited Wuthering Heights. He and his wife, Frances, treated Heathcliff as a servant. Despite this, his friendship with Catherine did not falter. They continue spending time with each other.
  • One day, they decided to spy on Linton’s siblings when Catherine got bitten by a dog. The Lintons required her to stay until she got well.
  • During her stay at Thrushcross Grange, Mrs.Linton trained her to become a proper lady. Catherine also becomes infatuated with Edgar.
  • In the Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff grew jealous of Catherine’s relationship with Edgar. As he was in Wuthering Heights as a servant, he could not do anything about it.
  • Frances died upon giving birth to her and Hindley’s son, Hareton.
  • Catherine told Nelly that while he is in love with Heathcliff, she cannot marry him because he would degrade her social status. Edgar can give her advancement in social status and material things.
  • Heathcliff ran away upon hearing Catherine say that marrying him would lower her status. Catherine and Edgar got married.
  • Heathcliff came back wealthy and a willing money lender for Hindley, knowing the latter cannot afford to pay for it.
  • He acquired Wuthering heights and let Hindley drown of alcoholism and treat Hareton the way he was treated by Hindley.
  • He visited Catherine in Thrushcross Grange and was welcomed by the Catherine and the Linton Siblings.
  • He became a frequent visitor to spend time with Catherine until the time Isabella become fond of him.
  • Heathcliff took advantage of Isabella’s fondness of him. Catherine, on the other hand, grew jealous of Isabella’s attention. She also suspected that he wanted to seek revenge against them and use Isabella.
  • Edgar forbids his sister to see Heathcliff, which she disobeyed.
  • Isabella’s life became miserable in Wuthering Heights.
  • Catherine suffered from brain fever while being pregnant. Heathcliff and Catherine confronted each other and tell their deep feelings for each other. It was the last time they saw each other as Catherine died giving birth to her daughter.
  • Isabella was able to escape Heathcliff and lived in London. She gave birth to her and Heathcliff’s son, Linton Heathcliff. She died years later and made her brother promise to take care of her son.
  • Cathy and Edgar with Nelly continued to live in Thrushcross Grange.
  • Cathy’s cousin, Linton, joined them. However, it was short-lived as Heathcliff demand to take his son to the Wuthering Heights.
  • Heathcliff still wants to get Thrushcross Grange. He lured Cathy to Wuthering Heights by sending letters presumably from Linton, telling her of his perilous health.
  • Heathcliff did not allow her and Nelly to go home unless she and Linton are married. After they got married, Cathy was finally allowed to go home and saw her father die.
  • Linton soon followed his uncle to the grave. Heathcliffe made Linton sign a will making him the owner of Thrushcross Grange.
  • Heathcliff continued his maltreatment of Catherine until he saw Hareton and Cathy together.
  • Before Linton’s death, Hareton had been an observer and follower to Heathcliff. He even treats Heathcliff as his father. Now, he and Cathy are acknowledging each other as cousins. Heathcliff began to change, and Hareton and Cathy continue to be fond of each other.
  • Until one wet morning, Nelly found Heathcliff dead. Only Hareton weep from his demise.
  • Nelly told Lockwood that Hareton and Cathy would finally inhabit the Grange, and they wished to get married on New Year’s day.

THEMES IN WUTHERING HEIGHTS

  • The Danger of Social Class
    • Something as normal as social status served as a destructive weapon that made the characters suffer. It cost them their livelihood, life, and sanity.
    • Catherine’s choice to marry Edgar started everything. Heathcliff can endure everything, Hindley’s maltreatment and his poverty, as long as he was with Catherine. But Catherine’s selfish contemplation to marry for money caused Heathcliff’s action.
    • The same can be said of Hindley, whose decision to make Heathcliff a servant drives Catherine’s decision not to marry him.
  • Love
    • Catherine and Heathcliff’s obsessive love for each other is the driving force of the novel. But in the story and the society they live in, love isn’t enough. Catherine knows this.
    • She chose Edgar because a lady was expected to marry for social status, but that does not say anything about the love she feels for Heathcliff.
    • Catherine compares her feelings for the two, according to her, “her love for Linton is like foliage in the woods, time will change it. … as winter change the trees.”
    • For Heathcliff she described it as being herself. “I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always on my mind; not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.” Catherine did not stop loving Heathcliff.
    • Heathcliff’s love became destructive as the book goes on. His desire for revenge was rooted in his love for Catherine. He once stated that” Two words would comprehend my future – death, and hell; existence, after losing her, would be hell.”
    • Such love for Catherine resulted in hatred for the man who got between them. He not only destroyed the life of Edgar and their offsprings, he also destroyed himself as his existence depended on inflicting pain to Edgar.
    • Another kind of love that existed in the book is Hindley’s love for his wife that made him succumb to intoxication and neglect his son after her death.
    • Edgar Linton’s love for Catherine was also great but unreciprocated. One could not help but feel bad for Edgar, who, throughout the book, remained civilized and with a great sense of right and wrong.
    • The only love that has been worthy of its name happened between Cathy and Hareton. The whole book was full of anger, but this end, in a way, made all the events in the book easier to absorb.
  • Revenge
    • Heathcliff had been untouched by social norms ever since he was a child. He acts according to what he feels and becomes someone who will spend his life against the people has wronged him. He was successful.
    • He got the Wuthering Heights from Hindley and let him die slowly of inebriation. Heathcliff treated Hareton like how Hindley treated him.
    • Heathcliff did not attempt to have revenge against Catherine. His love for her remained steady without hatred. However, he devoted his life to revenge against the person who got his way between them.
    • Heathcliff makes Edgar’s life miserable. Heathcliff married and abused Isabella. He used his ailing son to get the Thrushcross Grange by forcing Catherine and Edgar’s daughter to wed him.
    • He was determined to make Cathy and Hareton suffer living in Wuthering Heights until he saw Catherine’s eye from both of them.
    • Some readers also think that he saw himself in Hareton and Cathy in her daughter that he decided to stop his revenge and let them fall in love.

Wuthering Heights Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Wuthering Heights across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Wuthering Heights worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Wuthering Heights which was a popular yet disturbing masterpiece of the nineteenth century. A story of passionate love and vengeance. Its Byronic hero, Heathcliff, spurs so much anger throughout the novel and can leave an unsettling feeling with its readers. Wuthering Heights is a deeply tragic work of a reclusive author, Emily Bronte.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Wuthering Heights Facts
  • Emily’s Life
  • Two Contrasting Place
  • Hareton Earnshaw
  • Catherine’s Downfall
  • According to Nelly
  • Words from the Past
  • Heathcliff’s Life and Love
  • The Most Passionate Novel
  • Windows at the Heights
  • The Height’s Landscape

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