## Characters
**Catherine Earnshaw Linton** - Dies in childbirth at the beginning of the chapter, described as having lived a "wayward and impatient existence." In death, she appears peaceful with "her brow smooth, her lids closed, her lips wearing the expression of a smile" and "no angel in heaven could be more beautiful." Wears a locket around her neck containing a lock of hair. Her body lies in state in the great drawing-room, strewn with flowers and scented leaves. Buried in an unusual location in the kirkyard.
**Catherine Linton (the younger)** - Newborn daughter of Catherine and Edgar, born "about twelve o'clock that night" as "a puny, seven-months' child." Described as "the feeble orphan" and "an unwelcomed infant" whose beginning "was as friendless as its end is likely to be."
**Edgar Linton** - Catherine's husband, devastated by her death. Described as having "young and fair features" that were "almost as deathlike" as his wife's from grief. Spends days and nights watching over Catherine's coffin as "a sleepless guardian." Eventually forced to retire from exhaustion on Tuesday night.
**Heathcliff** - Catherine's former lover, discovered by Nelly standing against an old ash-tree in the park, "his hat off, and his hair soaked with the dew." Has been there all night - there are "several splashes of blood about the bark of the tree, and his hand and forehead were both stained" from previous episodes of self-harm. Cannot pronounce Catherine's name initially. Spends nights outside the house during the wake. Secretly enters to see Catherine's body and exchanges the contents of her locket - replacing her lock of hair with "a black lock of his own."
**Nelly Dean** - The narrator, serves as a servant/housekeeper. Watches over Catherine's deathbed and later tells Heathcliff of her death. Opens a window on Tuesday night to allow Heathcliff access to Catherine's body. Discovers evidence of his visit and "twisted the two" locks of hair together in the locket.
**Mr. Earnshaw (Hindley)** - Catherine's brother, invited to the funeral but "sent no excuse" and "never came."
**Isabella** - "Was not asked" to attend the funeral.
**Old Mr. Linton** - Deceased father of Edgar, mentioned as having secured "his estate to his own daughter, instead of his son's" (meaning Catherine inherited rather than any potential male heir).
## Timeline & Events
**About midnight** - Catherine gives birth to a daughter after seven months of pregnancy
**Two hours after birth** - Catherine dies without regaining consciousness
**Next morning** - Edgar lies exhausted beside Catherine's body; Nelly observes the peaceful scene
**Soon after sunrise** - Nelly leaves the house to find Heathcliff
**Morning encounter** - Nelly finds Heathcliff in the park and tells him Catherine is dead; he has a violent emotional breakdown
**Following days** - Catherine's coffin remains uncovered in the great drawing-room with Edgar maintaining constant vigil
**Tuesday night, after dark** - Nelly opens a window when Edgar is forced to rest; Heathcliff enters secretly to see Catherine's body and exchange the hair in her locket
**Friday** - Catherine's funeral takes place; she is buried in an unusual location in the kirkyard
## Key Facts
**Physical Descriptions:**
- Catherine's newborn is "puny" and premature at seven months
- Catherine in death has a "sweet smile on her face," smooth brow, closed lids
- Heathcliff's hair is soaked with dew, his hand and forehead stained with blood
- The ash-tree has "several splashes of blood about the bark"
- Catherine wears a locket containing a curl of light hair "fastened with a silver thread"
- Heathcliff replaces this with "a black lock of his own"
**Location Details:**
- Catherine's body lies in state in "the great drawing-room"
- Heathcliff stands "at least, a few yards further in the park" against an ash-tree
- Burial site is "on a green slope in a corner of the kirkyard, where the wall is so low that heath and bilberry-plants have climbed over it from the moor"
- The burial site is neither "in the chapel under the carved monument of the Lintons, nor yet by the tombs of her own relations, outside"
**Estate Details:**
- Old Linton secured his estate to Catherine (his daughter) rather than to Edgar (his son)
- This leaves Edgar without a male heir, only the newborn daughter
## Ages, Dates & Arithmetic
No specific ages or dates are mentioned in this chapter. The baby is born at seven months gestation, making it premature. Time references are relative: "about twelve o'clock that night," "two hours after," "next morning," "soon after sunrise," "Friday following her decease," "on the Tuesday."
## Unexplained Changes
No significant unexplained character changes are noted in this chapter, as it focuses on immediate events following Catherine's death.
## Plot Developments
**Threads Advanced:**
- Catherine's death resolves the central love triangle but creates new complications
- Edgar is left without a male heir, only a daughter who inherits through the maternal line
- Heathcliff's emotional breakdown reveals the depth of his attachment to Catherine
**New Threads Introduced:**
- The fate and future of the newborn Catherine
- The question of what will happen to Heathcliff now that Catherine is dead
- The unusual burial arrangement suggests ongoing family tensions
**Threads Complicated:**
- The inheritance situation is complicated by having only a female heir
- Heathcliff's violent grief suggests he may become even more dangerous or unstable
## Foreshadowing & Setups
**Heathcliff's curse:** His violent prayer that Catherine "may you not rest as long as I am living" and his plea for her to "haunt me, then!" strongly foreshadows supernatural elements and suggests Catherine's spirit may not rest peacefully.
**The hair exchange:** The symbolic replacement of Catherine's hair with Heathcliff's in the locket suggests their connection transcends death and may be discovered later.
**The burial location:** Catherine's burial in the unusual spot "where heath and bilberry-plants have climbed over it from the moor" rather than with either family suggests ongoing significance.
**The newborn's fate:** Nelly's observation that the child's "beginning was as friendless as its end is likely to be" ominously foreshadows the child's future.
**Heathcliff's access:** The fact that Heathcliff can secretly enter the house suggests he may continue to have covert influence over the household.
The chapter establishes Catherine's death as a pivotal moment that will drive future supernatural and emotional complications, particularly through Heathcliff's cursing and the symbolic hair exchange.