Do you need to write a summary of Emily Bronte’s novel? If yes, then it’s the right time to refresh the narrative of Wuthering Heights. IvyPanda’s experts have already done the work for you. Find out the significant events and use the extensive Wuthering Heights summary to write a book review.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into exploring this deep revenge tragedy!
⏳ Wuthering Heights Plot: Notable Events
The plot of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë has many important events.
Check out fifteen significant events of Wuthering Heights.
- Chapter 3. Catherine’s ghost.
At the novel’s beginning, Catherine’s supernatural figure appears in Mr. Lockwood’s dream. To his horror, she begs the man to let her into the house. - Chapter 4. Heathcliff’s arrival.
In this scene, old Mr. Earnshaw brings young Heathcliff from Liverpool to the Wuthering Heights hill house. His son Hindley isn’t too fond of the newcomer. - Chapter 6. Catherine and Heathcliff at Thrushcross Grange.
Heathcliff and Catherine secretly visit Thrushcross Grange for the first time. There, she is bitten by a dog and is left at the estate to heal from her wound. - Chapter 9. Heathcliff runs away.
Catherine accepts Edgar’s marriage proposal and talks about it to Nelly. Heathcliff eavesdrops on their conversation and runs away from Wuthering Heights. - Chapter 10. Heathcliff returns.
After three years of absence, Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights. He received a gentleman’s education and acquired significant wealth during his time away. - Chapter 11. Edgar and Heathcliff’s fight.
Heathcliff arrives at Thrushcross Grange. He fights Edgar Linton after being told that his presence at the estate is a moral poison that contaminates the most virtuous. - Chapter 12. Catherine is in delirium.
Catherine goes mad from the pain of childbirth. She tears her pillow with bare teeth and switches between madness and childishness. - Chapter 15. The final meeting.
Heathcliff visits Catherine for the last time before she dies. He is heartbroken to see her like this, while Catherine accuses Heathcliff and Edgar of being heartless and putting her in this situation. - Chapter 16. Catherine’s death.
Catherine Earnshaw passes away in labor at midnight while giving birth to her daughter Cathy. Edgar displays sorrow at her passing and that he doesn’t have a male heir. - Chapter 16. Heathcliff visits Catherine’s body.
Days before Catherine’s funeral, Heathcliff stayed vigilant near her body. Nelly finds a flock of Edgar’s hair on the floor and puts it in a locket intertwined with one of Heathcliff’s. - Chapter 22. Road meeting.
Cathy Linton first meets Heathcliff while exploring a tree at the edge of Thrushcross Grange. He invites the young lady to Wuthering Heights, intending a marriage between her and his son Linton. - Chapter 27. Cathy’s captivity.
Heathcliff keeps Cathy captive in Wuthering Heights, seeing Catherine in her and refusing to let her leave. Cathy can’t escape and tend to her dying father, Edgar. - Chapter 32. Cathy and Hareton become friends.
Catherine Hawthorne’s daughter becomes enamored with Hareton, leading to a friendship between the two. She gives him a book as a token of their friendship. - Chapter 34. Heathcliff dies.
Heathcliff is found dead in the chamber where he and Catherine Hawthorn spent hours together. Hareton was the only person to grieve his passing. - Chapter 34. The ghosts of Heathcliff and Catherine appear.
In one of the novel’s final scenes, a shepherd boy sees the ghosts of Catherine and Heathcliff on the moors. They finally met each other in the afterlife.
📈 Wuthering Heights Timeline of Events
Reading Wuthering Heights, you may notice that its events are mixed up. This is typical for books in which the author uses a non-linear narrative. To keep you from confusion about the plot lines and time skips, we’ve made a timeline with the novel’s main events in chronological order.
The novel begins in 1801 with the arrival of Mr. Lockwood, who has decided to buy a house near the Yorkshire moors. He has to spend the night in the old house and is plagued by nightmares that make him ask the housekeeper to tell him about his moody neighbor, Heathcliff. At this point, the housekeeper, Nelly, takes us back to the events that took place 30 years ago.
This flashback lasts until the final few chapters of Wuthering Heights. At the end of the story, we are taken back to 1802. Mr. Lockwood returns to where it all began, and we learn how Cathy Linton’s fate turned out.
📖 Wuthering Heights Summary
Here, you can explore the full Wuthering Heights summary. Our experts did their best to explain the narrative. After reading it, you’ll quickly refresh the novel’s tragic storyline.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 1
Mr. Lockwood rents a home called Thrushcross Grange in rural Yorkshire. He wanted to get away after hurting the feelings of a woman. Upon arrival, Mr. Lockwood meets with the landlord, Mr. Heathcliff, and decides to visit him.
Summary Chapter 2
Lockwood goes to Wuthering Heights the following day despite the foul weather. He meets Heathcliff’s nephew and his son’s widow at the place. Because of the snowstorm, Lockwood has to spend the night at the house.
Summary Chapter 3
While in bed, Lockwood discovers three names etched into its frame: Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Linton, and Catherine Heathcliff. In his sleep, Lockwood is visited by the ghost of a young girl who tries to get into Wuthering Heights and terrifies the man.
Summary Chapter 4
At Thrushcross Grange, Lockwood asks Nelly Dean, the housekeeper, to tell him about Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. She explains that the Earnshaws used to live there and recounts the day the future owner of the estate was brought to the estate by the old Mr. Earnshaw.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 5
That starts Nelly Dean’s recollection of the events around the Earnshaw family. Soon after Mr. Earnshaw’s wife passes away, his health begins to decline. The home’s owner sends away his son Hindley, annoyed by how his heir treats Heathcliff.
Summary Chapter 6
Hindley takes over Wuthering Heights after his father’s death and settles in with his wife, Frances. Meanwhile, Heathcliff and Catherine sneak off to Thrushcross Grange, where their neighbors, Edgar and Isabella Linton, live. Catherine gets bit by a dog, causing Hindley to blame Heathcliff and forbidding his sister from talking to him.
Summary Chapter 7
The Lintons visit the Earnshaw estate for Christmas, showing disdain towards Heathcliff. Edgar treats the servant poorly, making him throw applesauce at Mr. Linton and getting sent to the attic.
Summary Chapter 8
Frances gives Hindley a child named Hareton and dies shortly after. Her death causes the owner of Wuthering Heights to drink heavily while Catherine spends more time with Edgar, to Heathcliff’s discontent.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 9
Once Edgar leaves, Hindley unleashes his drunken rage on the house’s inhabitants. Afterward, Heathcliff comes across Nelly and Catherine discussing Edgar Lindon’s proposal. Catherine reveals to the housekeeper that she can’t marry Heathcliff due to his lower-class background, which causes the man to run away.
Summary Chapter 10
After three years away from Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff returns, having accumulated considerable wealth that troubles Edgar. Hindley welcomes the returned man back to help finance his gambling addiction. Edgar’s sister Isabella develops feelings for Heathcliff, which Nelly worries about.
Summary Chapter 11
Catherine confronts Heathcliff about his intimate moment with Isabella. Edgar storms in, ends their conversation, and tells the man to leave, which he refuses. Encouraged by Catherine, he hits Heathcliff and runs to gather more men. Catherine locks herself in a room and refuses to eat.
Summary Chapter 12
After three days, she lets Nelly into her room and eats a little. She’s still agitated, raving about Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights, and death. While Catherine is in this state, Heathcliff and Isabella elope.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 13
Two months pass, and Catherine recovers but not wholly. She discovers her pregnancy, making Edgar hopeful about a male heir to Thrushcross Grange. Meanwhile, Isabella is miserable with Heathcliff and writes letters to Edgar, which he ignores, but Nelly replies and decides to go to Wuthering Heights.
Summary Chapter 14
When Nelly arrives, she spends most of the time talking to Heathcliff. The owner of Wuthering Heights threatens to keep Nelly prisoner if she doesn’t deliver a letter to Catherine, to which she reluctantly agrees.
Summary Chapter 15
Nelly gives the letter to Catherine while her husband is at church. Catherine cries about dying without Heathcliff and begs him for forgiveness. Edgar bursts into the room as Heathcliff embraces her; Catherine faints in his arms.
Summary Chapter 16
This event makes Catherine give birth two months early. She dies soon after, and as Edgar leaves her body, Heathcliff sneaks into the room and replaces the lock of Edgar’s hair in Catherine’s silver locket with his own. Nelly finds the replacement and puts both in the piece of jewelry.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 17
Isabella visits Nelly at Thrushcross Grange, telling her about the fight between Heathcliff and Hindley. The owner of Wuthering Heights died six months later, making Heathcliff its new patriarch. He forbids Hareton from leaving Wuthering Heights, and Isabella gives birth to his son, Linton, in London.
Summary Chapter 18
Twelve years later, Edgar learns of Isabella’s death and goes to London to bring Linton home. While he’s away, Cathy goes to Wuthering Heights and meets Hareton, with whom she instantly falls in love. Cathy is repulsed by the fact that they’re cousins, thinking she was a pure blueblood the whole time.
Summary Chapter 19
After Edgar returns with Linton, Cathy shows affection for her cousin. Edgar believes that the boy will become physically stronger at Thrushcross Grange. But Joseph comes at night and orders him to be brought to Wuthering Heights.
Summary Chapter 20
Nelly delivers Linton to the house, and Heathcliff makes his annoyance with Isabella and lack of warm feelings for his son loudly known. Heathcliff also doesn’t hide his intention to take over Thrushcross Grange.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 21
On Cathy’s 16th birthday, she and Nelly walk on the moors. Cathy stumbles upon Heathcliff and Hareton, and Heathcliff invites her to Linton’s. Despite Nelly’s protests, she agrees and fails to recognize Linton when she sees him. This doesn’t stop them from starting correspondence to Heathcliff’s content.
Summary Chapter 22
During the winter, Edgar gets sick, so Nelly takes care of Cathy. Catherine’s daughter climbs a tree at the edge of the estate and drops her hat over the wall. She retrieves it but can’t go back, which Heathcliff uses as an opportunity to invite Cathy to Wuthering Heights.
Summary Chapter 23
Cathy and Nelly visit the house to find Linton sick and behaving like a child. After returning home, the homemaker falls ill, making Cathy care for her and Edgar. She comes to Linton at night when no one else can notice her.
Summary Chapter 24
Once Nelly recovers, she discovers these visits, and Cathy admits that her feelings for Linton have soured. One day, Cathy mocked Hareton, which prompted him to beat Linton up, and Linton blamed Cathy for the incident.
Summary Chapter 25
Cathy obeys her father’s order to stop her visits, but Edgar thinks keeping her from Linton is cruel. He allows her to marry the man but doesn’t think Linton can care for her. Edgar lets them meet only on the moors and not at Wuthering Heights.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 26
Cathy and Nellie spot Linton on the moors and are stunned by his feeble condition. They decide to pay close attention to him and assess his health during the subsequent encounter next week.
Summary Chapter 27
When that day arrives, Heathcliff accompanies Linton and invites Cathy and Nelly to Wuthering Heights. There, he keeps ladies locked away in separate rooms and threatens Cathy she won’t leave until she marries Linton.
Summary Chapter 28
Nelly gets out five days later and discovers the two are already married. On his deathbed, Edgar asks for his lawyer and rewrites his will to stop Heathcliff from gaining control over Thrushcross Grange. Cathy returns, but her father passes away without changing the will.
Summary Chapter 29
After Edgar’s funeral, Heathcliff returns to take Cathy to Wuthering Heights. He convinces the gravedigger to remove a part of Catherine’s coffin. When Heathcliff dies, the same will be done to his coffin, eliminating any barriers between them. He takes Cathy to his estate and tells Nelly she shouldn’t visit.
Wuthering Heights Summary Chapter 30
Some time passes, Linton dies, and Heathcliff keeps Cathy at Wuthering Heights. He treats her poorly, and Nelly wishes that Cathy would marry someone and escape Heathcliff, but the homemaker believes that this won’t happen. This puts Nelly’s story to an end and returns the narrative to present-day events.
Summary Chapter 31
Mr. Lockwood goes to Wuthering Heights. Cathy is miserable and makes fun of Hareton’s illiteracy. Lockwood leaves after eating with Heathcliff and other house dwellers. He thinks about how much Cathy’s situation would improve if she had a romantic relationship.
Summary Chapter 32
Lockwood returns to the countryside half a year later and goes to Wuthering Heights. Nelly is the housekeeper again and tells about a bond between Cathy and Hareton. Hareton got injured, and she nursed him and taught him how to read. Now, it looks like they’re going to marry.
Summary Chapter 33
That day, Cathy promises to make Hareton literate and argues with Heathcliff. The owner of Wuthering Heights tries to hit Cathy but can’t do it as she reminds him of Catherine. Heathcliff convinces Nelly that he will stop tormenting Hareton and Cathy.
Summary Chapter 34
After that event, Heathcliff becomes more agreeable and spends more time in seclusion. He starts talking to a ghost nobody sees and locks himself in a room, refusing food. Nelly finds him dead in that room next to an open window. Cathy and Hareton prepare to marry and go to Thrushcross Grange while Lockwood visits the graves of Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar.
We hope we’ve covered all the main points of the novel. If you have an upcoming paper on Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, check out our essay topics and samples section. It’s full of excellent ideas we’re sure you’ll find helpful.