## Characters
**Catherine Linton (Cathy)** - Edgar Linton's daughter
- Physical: sixteen years old, has golden ringlets, bright cheek "soft and pure in its bloom as a wild rose," radiant eyes, has reached full height with a figure "both plump and slender, elastic as steel," sparkling with health and spirits
- Present in scene, central character
- Personality: eager, passionate, happy creature described as "an angel," but also willful, curious, and prone to disobedience
- Actions: Goes on walk with Ellen, meets Heathcliff and Linton, begins secret correspondence with Linton
- Relationships: Edgar Linton's daughter, Linton Heathcliff's cousin, niece to Heathcliff
**Ellen Dean (Nelly)** - Narrator and housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange
- Present in scene, narrating
- Actions: Accompanies Cathy on walk, discovers and burns the love letters
- Relationships: Servant to the Lintons, trusted with Catherine's care
**Edgar Linton** - Catherine's father, master of Thrushcross Grange
- Present in scene
- Personality: protective, gentle, still grieving his wife's death
- Actions: Spends birthday/death anniversary alone, explains Heathcliff's history to Catherine
- Relationships: Catherine's father, Heathcliff's enemy, Isabella's brother
**Linton Heathcliff** - Heathcliff's sickly son
- Physical: nearly sixteen (still wanting some months), grown tall for his age, features still pretty, bright eye and complexion but with "merely temporary lustre," looks and movements very languid, form extremely slight but with grace
- Present in scene
- Personality: weak, faint-hearted, demanding, always wanting warmth and comfort
- Actions: Meets Catherine again, begins correspondence with her
- Relationships: Heathcliff's son, Catherine's cousin, Isabella's son
**Heathcliff** - Master of Wuthering Heights
- Present in scene
- Actions: Encounters Catherine on his land, invites them to his house, reveals his plan for Catherine and Linton to marry
- Relationships: Linton's father, Catherine's uncle by marriage, Edgar's enemy
- Reveals his inheritance plan: if Linton dies, Catherine would not inherit as "There is no clause in the will to secure it so: his property would go to me"
**Hareton Earnshaw**
- Physical: has gained "increased bulk and strength by the addition of two years to his age," seems "as awkward and rough as ever"
- Present in scene
- Personality: sensitive to slights, has "obviously a dim notion of his inferiority," cannot read
- Actions: Accompanies Catherine around the farm, is mocked by Linton for his illiteracy and Yorkshire accent
- Relationships: Hindley's son, raised by Heathcliff
**The Wuthering Heights housekeeper** (unnamed)
- Mentioned, not present
- Provides information about Linton's sickly condition and demanding nature
- Left after two years, replaced by another
## Timeline & Events
**March 20th** - Catherine's sixteenth birthday (also the anniversary of her mother's death)
- Edgar spends the day alone in library and visits graveyard
- Catherine asks for a walk on the moors with Ellen
- They encounter Heathcliff and Hareton on Heathcliff's land
- Catherine meets Linton Heathcliff for the first time in years
- They visit Wuthering Heights
- Heathcliff reveals his plan for Catherine and Linton to marry
**That evening**
- Catherine doesn't mention the visit because Edgar is absent
- Catherine is found crying in her room, worried about disappointing Linton
**Next day**
- Catherine tells Edgar about the visit
- Edgar explains Heathcliff's evil nature and history with Isabella
- Catherine begins secret correspondence with Linton using a milk-fetcher as messenger
**Weeks later**
- Ellen discovers the love letters in Catherine's drawer
- Ellen burns the letters after confronting Catherine
- Ellen sends a note ending the correspondence
## Key Facts
- Catherine's sixteenth birthday is March 20th
- This is also the anniversary of her mother's (Catherine Earnshaw's) death
- Edgar always spends this day alone and visits Gimmerton kirkyard, often staying past midnight
- Linton is nearly sixteen, still "wanting some months"
- The Grange park-fence is "a great way off" from where they encountered Heathcliff
- Catherine was "two miles nearer Wuthering Heights than her own home" when caught
- Wuthering Heights is Heathcliff's land
- There is an inscription over the door at Wuthering Heights that Hareton cannot read
- Catherine has a small drawer in a cabinet in the library where she keeps correspondence
- The milk-fetcher serves as messenger between the houses
## Ages, Dates & Arithmetic
- **Catherine Linton**: Exactly 16 years old (birthday March 20th)
- **Linton Heathcliff**: Nearly 16, "still wanting some months" to reach sixteen
- **Time references**:
- The first housekeeper left "two years after he [Linton] came"
- Hareton has had "the addition of two years to his age" since last described
- Catherine was born on the same day her mother died
- The correspondence continues for "weeks"
## Unexplained Changes
- **Linton's appearance**: Described as looking better than Ellen remembered, "his features were pretty yet, and his eye and complexion brighter than I remembered them, though with merely temporary lustre borrowed from the salubrious air and genial sun"
- No explanation for how the regular correspondence system was established so quickly
## Plot Developments
**New threads introduced:**
- Catherine and Linton's romantic relationship beginning
- Heathcliff's specific plan to marry Catherine and Linton for inheritance purposes
- The question of inheritance rights if Linton dies
**Existing threads advanced:**
- Catherine's growing independence and willfulness
- The ongoing feud between Edgar and Heathcliff affecting the next generation
- Hareton's degraded state becoming more apparent
**Threads complicated:**
- Edgar's protective efforts are undermined by Catherine's secret defiance
- The love correspondence creates new complications
**Threads resolved:**
- The immediate correspondence is ended by Ellen's intervention
- Catherine's temporary confusion about family relationships is clarified
## Foreshadowing & Setups
- **Heathcliff's inheritance scheme**: "There is no clause in the will to secure it so: his property would go to me; but, to prevent disputes, I desire their union, and am resolved to bring it about"
- **Linton's frail health**: Multiple references suggest he may not live long - "We calculate it will scarcely last till it is eighteen"
- **Hareton's degradation vs. potential**: Heathcliff's comparison between Hareton and Linton, calling Hareton "gold put to the use of paving-stones" while Linton is "tin polished to ape a service of silver"
- **Catherine's willfulness**: Her defiance in maintaining correspondence despite prohibition suggests future conflicts
- **The inheritance question**: The specific mention that Catherine would not inherit if Linton died sets up future legal/property conflicts
The inscription over Wuthering Heights' door that Hareton cannot read may be significant for future literacy/education themes.