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What happens in Chapters 31–34 of Wuthering Heights?
After a time away from the moors, Lockwood returns and writes about his experience. In particular, he writes that Heathcliff became more solitary and after an incident at breakfast, he began spending nights walking in the dark and returning in a strange mood, until eventually he asked everyone to leave Wuthering Heights and died shortly thereafter. Later, Lockwood is told by Nelly that Cathy and Hareton have married and are due to move into Thrushcross Grange. Lockwood discovers the graves of Edgar, Catherine, and Heathcliff.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Chapters 31–34 of Wuthering Heights. (3-minute read)
What famous quote from Wuthering Heights appears in Chapters 31–34?
In the following quote from Chapter 33, Heathcliff explains his state of mind to Nelly, setting the stage for his decline:
“In every cloud, in every tree—filling the air at night, and caught by glimpses in every object by day, I am surrounded with her image!”
Read the complete quote and a full analysis of it in Famous Quotes Explained. (1-minute read)
How does the tone of the novel change?
As the novel reaches its end, the tone changes from critical to hopeful, as the intensity of Heathcliff’s desire for revenge wanes and a happy resolution for Cathy and Hareton begins to take shape.
Read more about the novel’s Tone. (2-minute read)
What important theme from Wuthering Heights is developed in Chapters 31–34?
We fully explore the theme of The Futility of Revenge in these final chapters. Heathcliff, having achieved everything he wanted, finds himself still no closer to peace or satisfaction and realizes what he really wants is an end to his suffering. Whether that merciful end comes due to merely his death or his spiritual reunion with Catherine in the afterlife remains open to interpretation.
Read quotes about The Futility of Revenge. (3-minute read)
What key motif from Wuthering Heights appears in Chapters 31–34?
The fact that Heathcliff and Catherine’s ghosts have been observed walking the moors suggests that, even though Heathcliff’s death has made Cathy and Hareton’s future possible, the memory of the past still hangs over Wuthering Heights.
Read more about Ghosts as a Motif. (1-minute read)
What does the ending mean?
In the end, Lockwood goes to look at Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar’s graves. Though he has heard that the villagers claim their ghosts still haunt the grounds, Lockwood, in the stillness and quiet, says he can’t imagine that possibility—“how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.” With this final line, he dismisses any notions of the supernatural. This presents competing possibilities about Heathcliff and Catherine’s resolution. It is, however, worth noting Lockwood’s shortcomings as a narrator; it was established early on that he isn’t always able to see what’s really there.
