Wuthering Heights Characters & Family Tree

Do you want to remind yourself about the complex relationships between the characters in Emily Bronte’s novel? The IvyPanda.com expert team will help you make sense of the complicated web of major and minor characters in this literary work.

We invite you to explore the map of Wuthering Heights characters and their roles. We’ll cover all of them, from Heathcliff to Frances Earnshaw, as well as other central and sideline characters.

🌳 Wuthering Heights Family Tree

Emily Bronte’s novel centers around the Earnshaw family living at the titular Wuthering Heights house on the moors. The Wuthering Heights family tree consists of Mr. Earnshaw and his children, Catherine and Hindley. One of the novel’s main characters, Heathcliff, lives at the estate as a servant looked down upon by Hindley and falls in love with Catherine.

Their closest neighbors are Isabella and Edgar Linton, who live at the lavish Thrushcross Grange. These families intermarry during the novel, leading to intriguing character dynamics and a comprehensive ​​genealogy. The son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw becomes no more than a servant in his home, while Heathcliff’s son inherits both estates.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Wuthering Heights Character List

The main characters of Wuthering Heights are:

• Catherine Earnshaw
• Heathcliff

The list of secondary characters in the novel includes:

• Mr. Earnshaw
• Hindley Earnshaw
• Frances Earnshaw
• Mr. and Mrs. Linton
• Isabella Linton
• Edgar Linton
• Hareton Earnshaw
• Mr. Lockwood
• Nelly Dean
• Zillah
• Dr. Kenneth
• Joseph

👩 Wuthering Heights Character: Catherine Earnshaw

Catherine Earnshaw is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw and a sister to Hindley Earnshaw. Like other family members, she is of British nationality and lives with her family at Wuthering Heights. At the novel’s start, she’s a girl of 6-7 years old. She grows into a beautiful woman with dark curly hair and piercing eyes.

During her character arc, Catherine Earnshaw is torn between having relationships with the wealthy Edgar Linton and the poor Heathcliff. They represent her character’s wild and noble sides as she loves both men for their incompatible qualities. Catherine’s lineage makes her choose Edgar in the end, which proves tragic as she passes away giving birth to her daughter Cathy Linton.

Notable Quotes of Catherine Earnshaw

👨 Wuthering Heights Character: Heathcliff

Heathcliff is the deuteragonist of the Wuthering Heights novel. Mr. Earnshaw adopts him during his travels to Liverpool. He is considered a Byronic hero, black-eyed, with dark hair. At the novel’s start, Heathcliff’s age is the same as Catherine’s. He falls in love with the girl, but they’re not meant to be together.

He finds no respect from her brother, Hindley Earnshaw, who treats him poorly. However, this treatment made him work hard to succeed and get an education. Despite his new-found wealth and love for Catherine, Heathcliff becomes resentful and wants to avenge his treatment by the Earnshaws and the Lintons. He can’t forgive Catherine for choosing Edgar over him. However, his character changes by the novel’s end, and he becomes a better person. After reaching old age, Heathcliff dies and reunites with Catherine in the underworld.

Notable Quotes of Heathcliff

🎭 Other Wuthering Heights Characters

This part is dedicated to all secondary characters students can encounter in the Wuthering Heights novel. Here, we’ll briefly cover their role in the fate of the main characters and their relationships throughout Emily Bronte’s work.

Mr. Earnshaw

Mr. Earnshaw is the father of Hindley and Catherine. Also, he is the stepfather of Heathcliff and the owner of Wuthering Heights. He feels a great attachment to the little boy and gives him a proper education alongside his children. Mr. Earnshaw constantly compares Heathcliff and Hindley, leading to mutual hatred. He doesn’t put Heathcliff in his will, again emphasizing the man’s lower social status.

Hindley Earnshaw

Hindley is the son of Mr. Earnshaw, brother of Catherine Earnshaw, and the husband of Frances Earnshaw. He is jealous of his father’s affection towards Heathcliff. After his father dies, Hindley takes over Wuthering Heights and has a son. Unfortunately, his wife tragically passes away in childbirth. This event causes the man to drink excessively and drown in debt. His financial situation deteriorates to a point where Hindley has to borrow money from Heathcliff, ultimately costing him the ownership of Wuthering Heights.

Frances Earnshaw

Frances is Hindley Earnshaw’s wife and mother of Hareton Earnshaw. She is a talkative and high-spirited woman who tries to make the best of her circumstances. Mid-way through her pregnancy, Frances falls ill with consumption. This illness and childbirth prove too much for Frances, and she dies soon afterward. Her fate mirrors that of Catherine Earnshaw.

Mr. and Mrs. Linton

These characters are the parents of Edgar and Isabella Linton. They take care of the young Catherine Earnshaw after she gets hurt at Thrushcross Grange. Mr. and Mrs. Linton also treat Heathcliff poorly, thinking he’s no more than a wild savage. Mrs. Linton tries to transform Catherine Earnshaw into a lady and tries to tame her wild nature. Both departed at the beginning of the story from a fever.

Isabella Linton

Isabella Linton is Edgar Linton’s sister, Heathcliff’s wife, and Linton Heathcliff’s mother. She is just as spoiled and selfish as her brother. When Heathcliff returns from his travels, Isabella falls for his money and new status. Despite their initial infatuation with each other, things quickly turn to abuse once the two are married. The man mistreats her, so she has to run away to London, where she gives birth to Linton.

Edgar Linton

Edgar Linton is Isabella Linton’s brother, Catherine Earnshaw’s husband, and Cathy Linton’s father. Due to his life of luxury at Thrushcross Grange, Edgar is cowardly and arrogant. But he is a deeply caring man who mourns Catherine’s death. Edgar falls ill and passes away while his only daughter is held hostage at Wuthering Heights.

Hareton Earnshaw

Being the son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw, Hareton becomes a subject of ridicule and humiliation from Heathcliff. The owner of Wuthering Heights denies Hareton any semblance of education, respect, or sympathy. He grows up as a lower-class servant but still wants to be educated, starting with becoming literate. Unlike Heathcliff, Hareton Earnshaw doesn’t attempt vengeance or take offense. Instead, he falls in love with Cathy Linton, and the two want to marry by the novel’s end.

Mr. Lockwood

In this story, Mr. Lockwood is a minor character who rents Thrushcross Grange to spend some time away from city life. He stumbles upon the drama that’s going on between the two houses and witnesses the end of this story. Nelly explains to him the previous events that happened to the families.

Ellen Dean

Ellen Dean, more commonly referred to as Nelly throughout the novel, is the main narrator who tells Mr. Lockwood about the events of the past years. She grew up along Heathcliff, Hindley, and Catherne. Nelly becomes a friend of Catherine Earnshaw and a servant at both Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights, witnessing many events of the story.

Zillah

Zillah is a minor character who accompanies Catherine Earnshaw when she moves to Linton’s estate. Zillah doesn’t know about the previous events of the story or the characters of the people she will be working for. She keeps Nelly updated on Cathy after the girl moves to Wuthering Heights at Heathcliff’s request.

Dr. Kenneth

Another supporting character, Dr. Kenneth, is a doctor who resides in the nearby town of Gimmerton. During the story, he arrives at Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights when one of its residents falls ill. Dr. Kenneth also brings news from the settlement of other residences.

Joseph

Joseph is a minor character and an elderly house servant. He is a religious fanatic who appears in different parts of the story. In the book, he often criticizes other characters for their behavior and actions. Joseph is highly attached to the home’s owners, Mr. Earnshaw and Heathcliff.

We hope our article helped refresh your knowledge of the Wuthering Heights family trees and other characters. If you have trouble understanding the meaning behind some of the quotes in this novel, check out our quote explanation generator and get a detailed analysis in a matter of seconds.

📎 References

1. Wuthering Heights’ Characters. – Angelica Frey, ThoughtCo
2. Wuthering Heights: Summary, Characters, Analysis. – William Anderson, St. Rosemary Institution
3. Wuthering Heights Characters. – Literary Devices
4. Emily Brontë’s Fierce, Flawed Women: not Your Usual Gothic Female Characters. – Clare Pettitt, Laura Hood, The Conversation Media Group
5. Wuthering Heights Reading Guide. – Central Oregon Community College
6. Wuthering Heights — Study Guide. – CliffsNotes