Yorkshire

A region comprising three English counties—North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire—in northern central England. The properties of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange are located in this region of Yorkshire’s lonely, wild, and sparsely populated moors. The moors are characterized by spacious, open grassland and the heather that grows abundantly throughout the region.

Wuthering Heights

The estate of the Earnshaw family located on England’s Yorkshire moors. Wuthering Heights is described by Mr. Lockwood, a tenant at neighboring Thrushcross Grange, as desolate and the ideal home of a misanthropist. Lockwood explains that “wuthering” is a local word used to describe the tumultuous and stormy conditions that are common at Wuthering Heights. The house itself seems dark and forbidding, with a decidedly Gothic physical and spiritual atmosphere. Upon entering the gates of Wuthering Heights for the first time, Lockwood points out its general state of disrepair, especially noting the carvings of griffins at the threshold. Mr. Lockwood also observes that Heathcliff appears as a gentleman, in sharp contrast to the house itself, while the young Catherine Linton Heathcliff appears wild and untamed. He finds in time, though, that in reality the opposite is true.

As the novel progresses and the house passes from one owner to the next, in and out of the Earnshaw family, it is evident that the physical state of the house is somehow connected with the emotional state of its inhabitants. While the elder Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw live, the house retains a more civilized feeling, but as first Hindley Earnshaw and then Heathcliff obtain ownership, the atmosphere of the house becomes darker and more brooding. Like Heathcliff, the current master of the property, the house steadily deteriorates until the height of its disrepair is described by Mr. Lockwood, who has rented Thrushcross Grange near the end of Heathcliff’s term of ownership.

Liverpool

A major port city in western England. When Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw are young children, their father goes to Liverpool on business. He returns with a young and untamed boy, a homeless child he found in the streets of Liverpool and was unable to leave behind. No one in Liverpool knew who the homeless child was or where he came from, though he was thought by many in Liverpool to be a gypsy. The foundling boy is named for a former inhabitant of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff, the name of the elder Earnshaws’ dead infant son.

Gimmerton

A fictional village near Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. The village plays a minor, though integral, role in the novel. Heathcliff returns first to Gimmerton before he reappears at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange after his three-year absence. Near the end of the novel, when the young Catherine Linton and Ellen Dean are held hostage by Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights, the people of Gimmerton are enlisted to join in the search for them in the Yorkshire moors.

Thrushcross Grange

The home of the Linton family, the nearest neighboring estate to Wuthering Heights. In stark contrast to the dark and forbidding Wuthering Heights, the Grange is lighter and more orderly, a home filled with windows and fresh air. Even the willful and wild Catherine Earnshaw changes markedly when, as a girl, she stays for a few weeks at this location. The atmosphere of Thrushcross Grange does much to tame the formerly unrefined girl.

Like Wuthering Heights, Thrushcross Grange passes from the hands of the elder generation, Mr. and Mrs. Linton, to those of a younger generation, first to their son Edgar and later to his daughter Catherine. In the process, as opposed to Wuthering Heights, the atmosphere of the house becomes increasingly refined and civilized. Even the marriage of Edgar Linton of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights’ Catherine Earnshaw does little to change the more civilized atmosphere of Thrushcross Grange. However, though Catherine’s high spirits are held in check during the first days of her marriage to Edgar, the reappearance of Heathcliff does begin to affect the emotional state of all those who live at Thrushcross Grange. It is only when Thrushcross Grange falls into the hands of Heathcliff, who has gained ownership of the Heights through the marriage of his son Linton to young Catherine, that it begins to fall into a state of relative disrepair. It is this condition in which Mr. Lockwood finds Thrushcross Grange at the beginning of the novel.

By the end of the novel, young Catherine inherits Thrushcross Grange and Hareton Earnshaw inherits Wuthering Heights. The marriage of Catherine Linton Heathcliff and Hareton Earnshaw, then, unites the two houses in one well-matched and happy marriage. Finally, both the houses and the people who live in them can begin the process of physical and spiritual healing.

Narration

The impact of Wuthering Heights is largely due to its intricate narrative structure and the clever use of two ordinary characters to tell a highly unconventional story. The novel is arranged as a story within a story, often referred to by critics as "Chinese boxes." Lockwood introduces and concludes the novel in the present tense and first person ("I"). After returning to Thrushcross Grange from a visit to Wuthering Heights, feeling both sick and intrigued, Lockwood convinces Nelly to recount the history of his neighbors. Nelly takes over the narration, continuing in the first person almost until the end, with only brief interruptions from Lockwood. Critic David Daiches highlights in his introduction to Wuthering Heights the "fascinating counterpoint" of "end retrospect and present impression," noting that the story's power lies in Nelly's intimate knowledge of the main characters.

Setting

The novel is set in the Yorkshire moors of England, a region that remains bleakly beautiful and sparsely populated, characterized by high rolling grassy hills, few trees, and scattered rocky outcrops or patches of heather. The lowlands between the hills are marshy, and the weather is unpredictable and often wild due to the openness of the area. Wuthering Heights, exposed on the high moors, contrasts sharply with the sheltered tranquility of Thrushcross Grange, which sits in a soft valley. The nature of these two locations mirrors the personalities of their inhabitants. The descriptions of both houses also reflect the local architecture of Bronte's time, which frequently used a material known as grit stone.

Images and Symbolism

Emily Bronte's poetic vision shines through the imagery used throughout Wuthering Heights. Metaphors of nature and the animal world are prevalent. For instance, the first Catherine describes Heathcliff to Isabella as "an arid wilderness of furze and whinstone," and as Catherine lies dying, Heathcliff is likened to "a mad dog." Weather references are abundant. A violent storm erupts the night Mr. Earnshaw dies; rain pours down the night Heathcliff flees to London and again on the night of his death. Scenes of raw violence are frequent, such as a bulldog attacking Catherine and Isabella crushing her wedding ring with a poker. The supernatural is invoked through numerous references to Heathcliff as diabolical ("like the devil") and the ghostly presence of the first Catherine Linton. David Daiches notes in his introduction to Wuthering Heights that references to food and fire, and what he calls domestic routine, serve to "steady" the story and lend credibility to the intense passions portrayed.

Structure

One of the notable strengths of Wuthering Heights lies in its formal structure. The design of the timeline is significant not only because it employs two narrators but also because it allows important events in the story to be precisely dated, even though dates are rarely mentioned explicitly.

The triangular relationship between Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar is mirrored in Heathcliff's attempt to force young Catherine to marry Linton, although the outcome is ultimately different. When Lockwood arrives at Wuthering Heights, he notices the names "Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Linton, Catherine Heathcliff" etched into the windowsill.

By marrying Hareton, young Catherine Heathcliff will become Catherine Earnshaw, thereby completing the cycle.

Wuthering Heights features a unique narrative structure. The story is filtered through two narrators — one male and one female — which tends to create a sense of distance from the main characters while simultaneously adding a feeling of authenticity and "realism" to the tale.

The initial narrator is Mr. Lockwood, the new tenant at Thrushcross Grange. Upon his arrival in 1801, he becomes intrigued by the owner and the history of the estate. He begins asking questions and gradually learns about the residents. When he falls ill, he has ample time to question his housekeeper, Ellen Dean, extensively about the people in the two houses.

Ellen, the female narrator, was once part of the household at Wuthering Heights. She willingly divulges the secrets of the inhabitants and narrates the intertwined histories of the Linton, Earnshaw, and Heathcliff families.

Having dual narrators allows Bronte to manipulate time effectively. She can start the dramatic narrative in the present and then flash back to the characters' younger years. She expertly compresses and expands time, much like an accordion, to build dramatic tension. The story unfolds in a linear manner, interrupted when Mr. Lockwood travels to London. Upon his return, he learns about Heathcliff's death and Hareton and Cathy's inheritance of Wuthering Heights.

Besides employing two narrators, Bronte structures her novel as a story within a story. The narrative begins and ends with a ghost story. The first ghostly tale occurs when Mr. Lockwood is compelled to stay at Wuthering Heights in Catherine Earnshaw's room. He hears sobbing and feels an icy hand, which belongs to Catherine Earnshaw. Heathcliff enters and shares part of the story. The novel concludes with sightings of Heathcliff and Catherine's ghosts on the moors at night. These ghost stories frame the "real world story" of two deeply passionate individuals whose emotions made them profoundly human while alive.

Another technique Bronte masterfully employs is the use of characters with similar names. It becomes almost impossible to distinguish between Catherine I and Catherine II; Hindley, Hareton, and Heathcliff; and Linton and Lockwood. Although each character is unique, their personalities and physical appearances blur. This is likely intentional, as each character seems to be in an evolutionary stage. The dominant figures — Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff — and their intense passions influence and affect all the other characters.