Catherine "Cathy" Linton (present in scene):
Young lady, nearly seventeen years old
Has long hair that she strokes when comforting Linton
Wearing a frock
Shows compassion and caring nature, nursing both Ellen and Linton
Impulsive and passionate - pushes Linton's chair in anger, then immediately feels remorse
Determined and willful - hints she will continue visiting despite Ellen's warnings
Claims she's "older than he is, you know, and wiser: less childish"
Says "Next to papa and Ellen, I love you better than anybody living" to Linton
Relationship: Edgar Linton's daughter, Linton Heathcliff's cousin
Linton Heathcliff (present in scene):
Young invalid boy, younger than Catherine (she states she's older)
Physical: has "long soft hair," looks "feverish and ill," has a "tiresome cough"
Described by Ellen as "The worst-tempered bit of a sickly slip that ever struggled into its teens"
Manipulative and demanding - performs theatrical suffering to get attention
Reclines in "the great chair," complains constantly about temperature and comfort
Says Catherine's mother loved his father and hated Edgar Linton
Relationship: Heathcliff's son, Catherine's cousin, Isabella Linton's son
Ellen Dean (Nelly) (present in scene, narrator):
The housekeeper/servant who accompanies Catherine
Gets thoroughly wet feet from the journey
Described as having "a stirring active body"
Shows practical, no-nonsense attitude toward Linton's manipulation
Threatens to tell Mr. Linton about Catherine's visits
Becomes ill for three weeks after this visit (confined to bed)
Joseph (present in scene):
Elderly servant at Wuthering Heights
Physical: has a "black, short pipe"
Sits by roaring fire with "a quart of ale on the table near him, bristling with large pieces of toasted oat-cake"
Speaks in dialect: "Na—ay! yah muh goa back whear yah coom frough"
Ignores Linton's calls for service
Mr. Heathcliff (mentioned, absent):
Currently away, goes "on to the moors frequently, since the shooting season commenced"
Linton says he won't "stay away many days"
Calls Edgar Linton "a sneaking fool"
Called Linton "a pitiful, shuffling, worthless thing"
Relationship: Linton's father, Catherine's uncle by marriage
Edgar Linton (mentioned, present at home):
Catherine's father
Has a cold similar to Linton's condition
"Retires early"
Relationship: Catherine's father, Isabella's brother
Isabella Linton (mentioned):
Referred to as Catherine's "aunt"
Left Heathcliff (according to Catherine)
Relationship: Edgar's sister, Heathcliff's estranged wife, Linton's mother
Hareton (mentioned):
Away "at his work" during the visit
Returns "in the court" at twelve o'clock for dinner
Linton says "that brute Hareton laughs at me! I hate him!"
Also mentioned: "Hareton never touches me: he never struck me in his life"
Zillah (mentioned):
Morning: Misty morning with frost and drizzle following a rainy night. Ellen and Catherine arrive at Wuthering Heights via the kitchen to check if Heathcliff is really absent.
Upon arrival: They find Joseph sitting alone by the fire. Catherine and Ellen enter the inner room where they find Linton reclining in a great chair, complaining about the cold and lack of service.
During the visit:
Catherine tends to Linton, getting him water and wine
They have a pleasant conversation until it turns to family relationships
Argument erupts when Linton claims Catherine's mother hated her father and loved Heathcliff
Catherine pushes Linton's chair in anger, causing him to fall and have a coughing fit
Linton performs theatrical suffering to manipulate Catherine's guilt
Catherine recites ballads to comfort him until twelve o'clock
Hareton returns for dinner at twelve
Departure: Catherine secretly promises to return despite Ellen's objections.
Journey home: They reach home before dinner time. Ellen changes her wet clothes but falls ill.
Following three weeks: Ellen is bedridden. Catherine divides her time between nursing Ellen and attending her father, who retires early. Ellen notices Catherine has "fresh colour in her cheeks and a pinkness over her slender fingers" in the evenings.
The farmhouse is entered "by the kitchen way"
Linton sits in "the great chair" in "the inner room"
There's a pitcher in the dresser and wine bottle on the table
Shooting season has commenced
The wall around the Grange can be climbed over
There's a lock that Ellen threatens to have mended
Mr. Linton retires early and Ellen needs nothing after six o'clock
The library has a hot fire
Catherine is "almost seventeen"
Catherine states she is older than Linton: "I'm older than he is, you know, and wiser"
Ellen predicts Linton "he'll not win twenty" and doubts "whether he'll see spring"
Linton is described as having "struggled into its teens"
Ellen has never been incapacitated for duties before this three-week illness
New threads introduced:
Catherine's romantic feelings for Linton are developing (she calls him "a pretty little darling")
The revelation about Catherine's mother's supposed feelings creates new family tensions
Existing threads advanced:
Catherine and Linton's relationship deepens despite Ellen's disapproval
Catherine becomes more defiant about continuing the visits
Threads complicated:
Ellen's illness removes her as a watchful guardian
Catherine's access to Linton becomes easier with Ellen bedridden
Ellen's threat: "if you attempt going to Wuthering Heights again, with or without me, I shall inform Mr. Linton"
Catherine's mysterious evening activities during Ellen's illness strongly suggest secret visits
Catherine's confident statement "We'll see" and her secretive whisper to Linton promise future clandestine meetings
Linton's manipulation tactics and Catherine's susceptibility to them set up potential future emotional manipulation
Ellen's prediction that Linton won't live to twenty foreshadows his early death
Catherine's comment about climbing over the wall establishes her means of secret access
The mention that Catherine is "almost seventeen" may be setting up for her coming of age/majority
Key quote: "I can get over the wall," she said laughing. "The Grange is not a prison, Ellen, and you are not my gaoler."