Nelly Dean (Ellen) - Narrator and housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange
Role: Present in scene, narrating events
Actions: Pleads with Heathcliff to let Catherine stay, offers to resign her position to work at Wuthering Heights instead of Zillah
Relationships: Devoted servant to Catherine ("my beloved young mistress"), has worked at the Grange for years
Catherine Linton (young Catherine, referred to as "my young lady")
Role: Present in scene, being forced to leave the Grange
Physical details: Her lips felt "like ice" when kissing Nelly goodbye
Personality: Shows defiance toward Heathcliff, claims she has "a better" nature than Linton to forgive his faults, speaks with "dreary triumph"
Actions: Initially tries to dash out when seeing Heathcliff, ultimately agrees to go to protect young Linton, kisses Nelly goodbye
Relationships: Married to young Linton (her cousin), stepdaughter to Heathcliff, devoted to Nelly
Heathcliff - Master of both Wuthering Heights and now Thrushcross Grange
Role: Present in scene, forcing Catherine to come live at the Heights
Physical details: "Dark face rather sallower and more composed, his frame a stone or two heavier" than 18 years before, hair wet with perspiration, "same man" otherwise unchanged
Actions: Enters without ceremony, physically restrains Catherine, demands she come to Heights, reveals he opened Catherine Earnshaw's coffin, takes portrait of Mrs. Linton, forces Catherine to walk to Heights
Relationships: Father-in-law to Catherine, father to young Linton, was obsessed with Catherine Earnshaw (deceased)
Young Linton (Linton Heathcliff) - Catherine's husband
Role: Mentioned, currently at Wuthering Heights in poor condition
Physical condition: Described as "such a cobweb, a pinch would annihilate him," wakes "and shrieks in the night by the hour together"
Actions: Has "received his due" punishment from Heathcliff, calls for Catherine to protect him
Relationships: Son of Heathcliff, husband to Catherine, described as having "a bad nature"
Catherine Earnshaw Linton (deceased, referred to as "Mrs. Linton")
Role: Mentioned extensively, deceased but central to Heathcliff's obsession
Physical details: Portrait shows "splendid head," her face in the coffin "is hers yet"
Relationships: Deceased first wife of Edgar Linton, object of Heathcliff's obsession
Edgar Linton (recently deceased)
Role: Recently buried, mentioned in context of his grave
Relationships: Catherine Earnshaw's husband, father to young Catherine
Hareton - Resident at Wuthering Heights
Role: Mentioned as witness to young Linton's condition
Actions: Reports on young Linton's nightmares, was sent out during Heathcliff's punishment of Linton
Joseph - Servant at Wuthering Heights
Role: Mentioned as helping carry young Linton upstairs
Relationship: Long-time servant who thinks Heathcliff's conscience troubles him
Zillah - Housekeeper at Wuthering Heights
The Sexton - Graveyard worker
Role: Mentioned as being bribed by Heathcliff to disturb the graves
Actions: Dug Edgar Linton's grave, helped Heathcliff open Catherine's coffin, was bribed to arrange future grave disturbance
Evening after Edgar Linton's funeral:
Nelly and Catherine sit in the library discussing their future
They hope Catherine can remain at the Grange during young Linton's lifetime
A discarded servant announces Heathcliff's arrival
Heathcliff enters without ceremony, dismisses the servant
Heathcliff's demands:
He insists Catherine come to Wuthering Heights to care for young Linton
Reveals he punished young Linton "the day before yesterday" by simply placing him in a chair and staring at him for two hours
States he's seeking a tenant for the Grange and wants his "children" around him
Heathcliff's revelation about the grave:
Yesterday: Heathcliff had the sexton remove earth from Catherine Earnshaw's coffin and opened it
He struck one side loose (not Edgar's side) and arranged for future grave disturbance
This was 18 years after her death
Flashback - The night of Catherine Earnshaw's burial:
Heavy snowfall occurred
Heathcliff went to churchyard in evening with spade
Began digging but heard sighs and felt Catherine's presence
Stopped digging, refilled grave, returned home
Found door fastened, fought with "accursed Earnshaw" and his wife
Searched his and Catherine's room desperately
18 years of torment described:
Continuous sense of Catherine's presence but inability to see her
Constant expectation of meeting her everywhere
Inability to sleep in their former shared chamber
Nightly opening and closing eyes hoping to see her
Departure:
Catherine prepares to leave
Heathcliff takes Mrs. Linton's portrait
They walk to Heights together, Catherine's arm forced under his
Nelly watches from window as they disappear into the tree-lined alley
The same room where Heathcliff was received "as a guest, eighteen years before"
Same moon shining through window, same autumn landscape
Portraits on library wall: Mrs. Linton (splendid head) and her husband (graceful)
Heathcliff is heavier by "a stone or two" than 18 years ago
Young Linton is physically very weak ("such a cobweb")
Catherine Earnshaw's face in coffin appeared unchanged ("it is hers yet")
The coffin side struck loose was not Edgar's side
Heathcliff has "strong faith in ghosts" and conviction they exist among us
Catherine's lips felt "like ice" when she kissed Nelly goodbye
No ponies needed at Wuthering Heights for Catherine's future journeys
18 years ago: Heathcliff was last received as guest at the Grange, Catherine Earnshaw died
18 years: Duration of Heathcliff's torment and obsession with Catherine's ghost
The day before yesterday: When Heathcliff punished young Linton (two days before this scene)
Yesterday: When Heathcliff opened Catherine's coffin
Two hours: Duration Heathcliff stared at young Linton as punishment
Heathcliff now owns Thrushcross Grange (he is "master" and seeking a tenant)
Heathcliff's physical appearance largely unchanged despite 18-year gap
Some servants at the Grange are "discarded ones, not yet departed"
New threads introduced:
Catherine must now live at Wuthering Heights under Heathcliff's control
The question of what will become of Nelly and the Grange
Existing threads advanced:
Heathcliff's supernatural obsession with Catherine Earnshaw reaches new level with grave disturbance
Young Linton's physical and mental deterioration under his father's psychological torture
Power dynamics shift as Heathcliff now controls both properties
Threads complicated:
Catherine torn between protecting young Linton and escaping Heathcliff's control
Nelly's future uncertain as beloved mistress is taken away
The portrait: Heathcliff taking Mrs. Linton's portrait suggests continued obsession will play out at the Heights
Grave arrangements: Heathcliff's plan to have his coffin placed next to Catherine's and Edgar's removed sets up his own death scene
Catherine's icy lips: Physical detail suggesting her own decline or supernatural influence
Young Linton's condition: His extreme weakness and nightmares suggest he may not survive long
Heathcliff's "pacification": His claim to be "pacified—a little" after seeing Catherine's corpse suggests his obsession may be reaching resolution
The tree-concealed alley: Their disappearance into concealment symbolically suggests Catherine's entrapment
Key quotes for future reference:
"I'll have it made so: and then by the time Linton gets to us he'll not know which is which!" (about grave arrangements)
"It was a strange way of killing: not by inches, but by fractions of hairbreadths, to beguile me with the spectre of a hope through eighteen years!"
"Now, since I've seen her, I'm pacified—a little"