## Characters
**Edgar Linton** - Catherine's father; dying, confined to library and chamber for brief periods daily; has fixed idea that young Linton resembles him in mind as well as person; receives letters from nephew Linton that hide the boy's defective character; hopes Catherine won't be left entirely alone after his death
**Catherine (Cathy) Linton** - Edgar's daughter; wan and sorrowful from watching over dying father; grudges any moment away from his bedside; has black eyes that flash with passion; shows both tenderness and fierce determination; promised to meet young Linton; physically fights Heathcliff for the key
**Ellen Dean (Nelly)** - Narrator and servant; accompanies Catherine on ride; refuses to leave Catherine's side; gets locked in Zillah's chamber for five nights and four days; fed only by Hareton
**Young Linton Heathcliff** - Heathcliff's son; sickly, cowardly, nervous; throws himself on ground in terror; fears his father intensely; reveals he's been forced to lure Catherine to Wuthering Heights for marriage; becomes composed once safely inside the house; described as "pitiful changeling" and "little perishing monkey"
**Heathcliff** - Master of Wuthering Heights; physically violent toward Catherine (slaps her repeatedly); locks Catherine and Ellen in the house; threatens and intimidates his son; plans forced marriage between Catherine and Linton; shows savage pleasure in causing distress
**Hareton** - Away with cattle to the Lees during most events; serves as jailor to Ellen, bringing food but refusing communication; described as "surly, and dumb, and deaf"
**Zillah and Joseph** - Household servants; away on "a journey of pleasure" during the events
## Timeline & Events
**Seven days pass** - Edgar Linton's condition rapidly deteriorates
**Thursday** - Catherine was supposed to go riding but doesn't mention it due to father's condition; Ellen mentions it and gets permission for the outing
**Golden afternoon of August** - Catherine and Ellen ride out to meet young Linton at the same spot as before; young Linton appears fearful and distressed; reveals his father threatened him and he's afraid to tell the truth; Heathcliff appears and forces them all to Wuthering Heights
**At Wuthering Heights** - Heathcliff locks them in; Catherine fights him for the key and is violently beaten; young Linton reveals the plan for forced marriage that night; Catherine and Ellen are imprisoned
**That evening around 9 o'clock** - Three servants from Thrushcross Grange come looking but don't find them; Heathcliff forces Catherine and Ellen upstairs to Zillah's chamber
**Next morning at 7 o'clock** - Heathcliff takes Catherine away; Ellen remains locked up
**Five nights and four days total** - Ellen remains imprisoned, fed only by Hareton each morning
## Key Facts
- Edgar Linton is dying rapidly after a prolonged illness
- The meeting spot is on heath/moor land with a slope
- Wuthering Heights has narrow windows too small for escape
- Kitchen door is fastened from outside
- There's a garret with skylight that's also secured
- Zillah's chamber has a lattice window
- Young Linton writes letters to his uncle Edgar that conceal his true character
- Heathcliff has been giving his son "lessons about snivelling"
- The house is isolated enough that Heathcliff believes he can hold prisoners "quite concealed"
## Ages, Dates & Arithmetic
- Events span exactly seven days from Edgar's rapid decline to the imprisonment
- Catherine spends "five nights and four days" imprisoned total
- Timeline reference: "golden afternoon of August"
- Edgar has been ill for months previously, but deterioration now happens in hours/days
## Unexplained Changes
- Young Linton's terror completely subsides once inside Wuthering Heights, suggesting his fear was specifically of failing his father's mission rather than general anxiety
- Ellen notes the "anguish he had exhibited on the moor subsided as soon as ever he entered Wuthering Heights"
## Plot Developments
**New threads introduced:**
- Forced marriage plot between Catherine and young Linton
- Edgar Linton's imminent death creating urgency for Heathcliff's plans
**Existing threads advanced:**
- Catherine and young Linton's relationship reaches crisis point
- Heathcliff's revenge scheme escalates to active kidnapping and coercion
**Threads complicated:**
- Catherine torn between filial duty to dying father and protecting young Linton
- Ellen's protective duty compromised by imprisonment
**Threads resolved:**
- Young Linton's mysterious behavior explained (coerced by father's threats)
- The true purpose of the meetings revealed (trap for forced marriage)
## Foreshadowing & Setups
- Edgar's belief that young Linton resembles him "in mind" sets up future disappointment
- Heathcliff's comment about Catherine having "plenty" of punishment as her future father-in-law
- Reference to Catherine being able to tell Edgar "fine tales of his kindness" when she returns - implies she will return but with disturbing news
- Heathcliff's mention of being Catherine's father "in a few days" - suggests Edgar's death is imminent
- The locked doors and narrow windows establish the physical impossibility of escape, building tension for how the situation will resolve
**Key quotes:**
- Young Linton: "Papa wants us to be married...and you are to stay here all night; and, if you do as he wishes, you shall return home next day"
- Heathcliff: "I shall enjoy myself remarkably in thinking your father will be miserable"
- Catherine: "I'll marry him within this hour, if I may go to Thrushcross Grange afterwards"