Analysis: Chapters XXVII–XXX
As Edgar Linton grows weak and dies, Heathcliff’s cruelty
rages unchecked. Without fear of repercussion, he abuses the other
characters mercilessly, kidnapping Nelly and young Catherine. With
no one left who is strong enough to counter Heathcliff, the course
of events in these chapters seems inevitable. Heathcliff easily
succeeds in marrying his son to young Catherine, and in inheriting
Thrushcross Grange. However, a new force begins to rise up against
the tyrant. Catherine shows a defiant spirit, and she triumphantly declares
that the love between her and Linton will save them from misery
and make them superior to Heathcliff. This foreshadows her eventual
strong-willed rebellion against Heathcliff—and her redemption of
her oppressed predecessors through her love for her other cousin,
Hareton Earnshaw.
The young Catherine’s manifestation of her mother’s boldness, as
well as Heathcliff’s progressing revenge, bring to mind the older Catherine
and the defiant marriage to Edgar with which she first sparked Heathcliff’s
wrath. Indeed, perhaps because of young Catherine’s behavior, Heathcliff
himself seems to become increasingly preoccupied with thoughts of
the late Catherine. The horrifying spectacle of Heathcliff uncovering
her grave and gazing upon her corpse’s face, as well as his intense
concern about the fate of Catherine’s body, testifies to the extreme
depth of his obsession. In a sense, Heathcliff’s interest in the
decomposition of his beloved is quite in keeping with the nature
of their relationship. The text consistently describes their love
not only in spiritual terms, but in material ones. Thus Catherine
declares in Chapter IX, “Whatever souls are made of, his and mine
are the same.” Moreover, the relationship between Heathcliff and
Catherine has come to be associated with the soil where it has been
conducted; its fate becomes intertwined with that of the earth,
as the narrative repeatedly links both Heathcliff and Catherine
to the severe and wild moors, which frequently symbolize the unruly
nature of their love.
These chapters give us insight not only into the story’s
main characters and their relationships, but also into the story’s
narrator, Nelly Dean. First, Nelly chooses to lie to Edgar about
his daughter’s condition as Edgar lingers near death, a well-meaning
untruth that resembles her earlier lie to Linton, which she told
en route to deliver him to Heathcliff. Just as she declared to Linton
that his father was kind and generous, she now tells Edgar that
his daughter is happily married. Nelly thus shows herself willing
to lie and distort the truth in order to spare feelings and ease
social situations. Nelly again displays a certain manipulative quality
in a statement she makes outside the story, to Lockwood. She tells
him that the young Catherine’s last hope for salvation would be
a second marriage, but that she, Nelly, is powerless to bring about
such a union. This remark seems intended to express more than idle
wishfulness. As the reader may recall, Nelly insinuates in Chapter
XXV that Lockwood might fall in love with Catherine himself. At
the time, the comment seemed nothing more than speculation. Yet
now the reader can see that Nelly may be pursuing a plot to rescue
her former mistress.
Indeed, Nelly’s willingness to narrate the story to Lockwood
in the first place may stem from this notion of saving Catherine.
Nelly paints a far more flattering picture of young Catherine than
she does of the girl’s mother, even when they exhibit similar traits.
Nelly frequently emphasizes young Catherine’s beauty, and she may
subtly frame her story in a certain way so as to pique Lockwood’s
interest in the girl. Of course, this is merely one possible interpretation
of the text, but again, it is extremely important to consider the
motivations and biases of the character who narrates the story.
One of the most impressive aspects of Emily Brontë’s achievement
in Wuthering Heights is her ability to include
such finely drawn, subtle psychological portraits as that of Nelly
Dean—many of whose most fascinating human qualities emerge only
when one reads between the lines of her narration.
