## Characters
**Catherine Linton (Mrs. Linton)** - Present in scene, recovering from brain fever
- Has been gravely ill for two months with "brain fever"
- Physically weakened, described as "a mere ruin of humanity"
- Shows signs of mental instability and depression
- First leaves her chamber in early March
- Hair color, height not mentioned; appears frail and exhausted
- Shows moments of delight (at flowers) but overall melancholy
- Pregnant (expecting an heir to secure Linton lands)
- Relationship: Edgar's wife
**Edgar Linton** - Present in scene
- Catherine's devoted husband who has nursed her constantly
- Shows unlimited devotion, watching "day and night"
- His health and strength being sacrificed to care for Catherine
- Brings her golden crocuses, speaks tenderly
- Physical details not mentioned
- Relationship: Catherine's husband, Isabella's brother
**Isabella Linton/Heathcliff** - Mentioned and writes letter
- Edgar's sister, recently married to Heathcliff
- Sent brief marriage announcement six weeks after departure
- Now at Wuthering Heights, deeply unhappy
- Writes long letter to Ellen describing her situation
- Physical details: wears fine dress unsuitable for Heights
- Shows courage but also despair and hatred for Heathcliff
- Relationship: Edgar's sister, Heathcliff's new wife
**Heathcliff** - Mentioned in letter, briefly appears
- Isabella's new husband, described as possibly inhuman ("Is he a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil?")
- Cruel and abusive to Isabella
- Blames Edgar for Catherine's illness
- Threatens Isabella as Edgar's "proxy in suffering"
- Physical details not mentioned in this chapter
**Ellen Dean (Nelly)** - Narrator and letter recipient
- Servant at Thrushcross Grange
- Cares for Catherine during illness
- Receives and preserves Isabella's letter
- Arranges Catherine's move from sick chamber to parlour
**Kenneth** - Mentioned
- Doctor who treated Catherine
- Warned that Catherine would be source of "constant future anxiety"
- Relationship: Local physician
**Hareton Earnshaw** - Appears in Isabella's letter
- Child at Wuthering Heights, described as "ruffianly" and dirty
- "Strong in limb" with "a look of Catherine in his eyes and about his mouth"
- Speaks in dialect, threatens Isabella with dog
- Drinks milk directly from pitcher
- Relationship: Hindley's son, Edgar's "legal nephew"
**Joseph** - Appears in Isabella's letter
- Elderly servant at Wuthering Heights
- Extremely rude and unhelpful to Isabella
- Speaks in heavy Yorkshire dialect
- Shows contempt for Isabella's refined ways
- Relationship: Long-time servant at the Heights
**Hindley Earnshaw** - Appears in Isabella's letter
- Now called "Mr. Earnshaw," living at Wuthering Heights
- Described as "tall, gaunt man" with "masses of shaggy hair"
- "His eyes, too, were like a ghostly Catherine's with all their beauty annihilated"
- Shows signs of madness and deep hatred for Heathcliff
- Carries a pistol with attached knife, plots to kill Heathcliff nightly
- Relationship: Hareton's father, former owner of Wuthering Heights
**Throttler** - Dog mentioned in letter
- Bull-dog, son of "our old Skulker"
- Originally from Thrushcross Grange, given to Hindley
- Helps Isabella by eating spilled porridge
## Timeline & Events
**Two months prior to chapter start**: Heathcliff and Isabella elope from Thrushcross Grange
**During the two-month period**: Catherine suffers severe brain fever; Edgar nurses her devotedly day and night
**Six weeks after Isabella's departure**: Isabella sends brief marriage announcement to Edgar
**Early March**: Catherine first leaves her sick chamber; Edgar brings her golden crocuses
**Same day**: Catherine moves to the parlour, then to a room on the same floor to avoid stairs
**Two weeks after marriage announcement**: Isabella writes long letter to Ellen describing her arrival at Wuthering Heights
**Evening of Isabella's arrival at Heights**:
- Arrives around 6 PM (sun setting behind Grange)
- Heathcliff stops to inspect Grange grounds for half hour
- Arrives at Heights in darkness
- Joseph greets them rudely
- Isabella meets hostile Hareton and his dog Throttler
- Encounters disheveled, mad Hindley who shows her his weapon
- Struggles with meal preparation with Joseph
- Forced to sleep in Hareton's room
- Heathcliff wakes her, threatening and abusive
## Key Facts
**Physical descriptions**:
- Thrushcross Grange parlour has been unused for many weeks, has windows facing south
- Catherine's sick chamber has "dreary associations"
- Room prepared for Catherine is "on the same floor with the parlour"
- Wuthering Heights kitchen is "dingy, untidy hole," much changed from Ellen's time
- Heights has paved yard, outer gate that locks like "ancient castle"
- Hindley's room has good carpet (dust-covered), cut-paper fireplace hangings, oak bedstead with crimson curtains (damaged), damaged chairs, deformed wall panels
- Garret rooms used for storage, smell of malt and grain
**Objects**:
- Golden crocuses from the Heights
- Isabella's marriage letter written in pencil
- Hindley's "curiously-constructed pistol, having a double-edged spring knife attached to the barrel"
- Large pan and wooden bowl for making porridge
- Four basins and gallon pitcher of milk for supper
**World details**:
- Distance between Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights is four miles
- March weather: snow gone from lower areas, only two white spots on moors, larks singing, streams full
- No maid-servants at Wuthering Heights
## Ages, Dates & Arithmetic
**Timeline references**:
- Two months pass between elopement and this chapter
- Six weeks after departure: Isabella's marriage announcement
- Two more weeks: Isabella's long letter
- "Last spring at this time" - Edgar references previous March
- Events occur in March (specific early March when Catherine first leaves chamber)
**Character ages/timing**:
- Catherine is pregnant (timing of conception not specified)
- Hareton appears as young child, able to speak and threaten but still called "little wretch"
- No specific ages given for any characters
## Unexplained Changes
**Significant changes noted**:
- Catherine's dramatic physical and mental deterioration from brain fever
- Isabella's complete personality change from sheltered lady to desperate, unhappy wife
- Wuthering Heights kitchen dramatically changed from Ellen's time there
- Hindley's transformation into a mad, disheveled, vengeful man obsessed with killing Heathcliff
## Plot Developments
**New threads introduced**:
- Catherine's pregnancy creates hope for heir to secure Linton lands
- Isabella's marriage to Heathcliff revealed as disastrous
- Hindley's murderous plot against Heathcliff with nightly assassination attempts
- Question of Heathcliff's humanity ("Is Mr. Heathcliff a man?")
**Existing threads advanced**:
- Catherine's recovery progresses physically but mental state remains fragile
- Edgar and Isabella's estrangement continues (he doesn't reply to her letters)
- Heathcliff's revenge continues through tormenting Isabella
**New obstacles**:
- Catherine's prediction she will die: "I shall never be there but once more"
- Isabella trapped at Heights with no allies against Heathcliff
- Hindley's madness makes him unpredictable and dangerous
## Foreshadowing & Setups
**Objects given emphasis**:
- Hindley's pistol-knife weapon, which he uses nightly to test Heathcliff's door
- Isabella's "covetous" reaction to the weapon suggests potential future violence
- Catherine's pregnancy as hope for succession
**Ominous statements**:
- Catherine's death prediction: "then you'll leave me, and I shall remain for ever"
- Kenneth's warning that Catherine will be "source of constant future anxiety"
- Hindley's threat: "when the time comes, not all the angels in heaven shall save him!"
- Isabella's desperate plea for Ellen to visit, suggesting escalating danger
**Unresolved questions**:
- Will Catherine survive childbirth given her weakened state?
- When will Hindley's assassination attempt succeed or fail?
- How will Isabella escape her situation?
- What is Heathcliff's ultimate plan for revenge?
The chapter establishes Catherine's fragile recovery while revealing through Isabella's letter the horrific conditions at Wuthering Heights, setting up multiple potential tragedies involving pregnancy, madness, and planned murder.