Narrator (Mr. Lockwood) - Present throughout the chapter; staying as a guest at Wuthering Heights. Physical details: Wears garments that get wet from snow. Takes a candle to bed. Personality traits: Initially "too stupefied to be curious," becomes frightened during his nightmare experiences. Key actions: Sleeps in the oak bed-closet, reads Catherine's marginalia, experiences nightmares, breaks a window pane in his dream/vision, speaks to Heathcliff about the supernatural encounter, walks back to Thrushcross Grange in the morning.
Servant (unnamed woman) - Present briefly; leads Lockwood upstairs. Physical details: None mentioned. Personality: Accommodating but secretive. Key actions: Shows Lockwood to his room, warns him to hide his candle and be quiet, mentions her master's "odd notion" about the chamber. Has lived there only "a year or two" and claims ignorance about the household's "queer goings on."
Catherine Earnshaw/Heathcliff/Linton - Not physically present but central to the chapter through her writings and ghostly manifestation. The name appears in three variations scratched on the window ledge. Her marginalia reveals her as a child writing diary entries. In the supernatural encounter, appears as "a child's face" with "little, ice-cold hand" and identifies herself as "Catherine Linton" seeking entry after being "a waif for twenty years."
Heathcliff - Present in person at the end; Lockwood's landlord. Physical details: Appears "in his shirt and trousers," face "as white as the wall," extremely agitated with "maxillary convulsions," crushing nails into palms. Shows extreme emotional reaction to mentions of Catherine, eventually breaking down in tears calling "Cathy, do come." Relationship: Connected to Catherine through the window inscriptions; shows intimate knowledge of her.
Hindley - Mentioned in Catherine's diary entries as her brother and current master of the house. Described as "detestable substitute" for their father, treats Heathcliff "atrociously," married to Frances.
Frances - Hindley's wife, mentioned in diary as pulling Heathcliff's hair and sitting on Hindley's knee "like two babies, kissing and talking nonsense."
Joseph - Present briefly at end; household servant. Physical details: Descends from garret via wooden ladder, smokes a three-inch pipe. Personality: Dour, religious, disapproving. In Catherine's diary, described as their "chaplain" who conducts religious services and scolds the children. Has distinctive dialect speech patterns.
Hareton Earnshaw - Present briefly; performs morning chores. Physical details: None specific. Personality: Uncommunicative, curses while working. Shows Lockwood the way indoors with gestures rather than words.
Zillah - Present in morning scene; identified as the servant who showed Lockwood to his room. Physical details: Uses "colossal bellows" on fire. Receives scolding from Heathcliff.
Mrs. Heathcliff - Present in morning scene; described as Heathcliff's "daughter-in-law." Physical details: Kneels by hearth reading a book, holds hand between fire and eyes. Personality: Defiant toward Heathcliff. Relationship: Married to Heathcliff's son (implied).
Jabez Branderham - Appears only in Lockwood's dream as a preacher giving an extremely long sermon about "Seventy Times Seven."
Evening/Night: Lockwood is led upstairs by the servant woman and placed in the special chamber. He discovers the oak bed-closet and settles in for the night with his candle.
Night reading: Lockwood finds Catherine's books with her marginalia and reads her diary entries, which describe events from "a quarter of a century back" when she was a child.
Catherine's diary timeframe: Her entries describe "An awful Sunday" during a period when her father is dead ("T' maister nobbut just buried") and Hindley has become master of the house. The entries show her and Heathcliff as children rebelling against Hindley's harsh treatment.
Dream sequence 1: Lockwood dreams of attending Jabez Branderham's sermon that lasts for 490 parts, ending in a violent congregation uprising.
Dream sequence 2: Lockwood experiences a supernatural encounter with Catherine's spirit, who claims to have been "a waif for twenty years" and desperately seeks entry through the window.
Late night confrontation: Heathcliff investigates Lockwood's screaming, becomes extremely agitated when Catherine is mentioned, and after Lockwood leaves, opens the window calling for "Cathy" to return.
Early morning: Lockwood encounters Joseph in the back-kitchen, then the main household (Hareton, Zillah, Mrs. Heathcliff, and Heathcliff) before departing.
Dawn: Heathcliff accompanies Lockwood partway across the snow-covered moor to Thrushcross Park entrance.
Noon: Lockwood arrives at Thrushcross Grange at exactly 12 o'clock, having taken four hours to travel the usual two-mile distance.
Physical descriptions:
The chamber contains only "a chair, a clothes-press, and a large oak case" that serves as a bed
The oak case has "squares cut out near the top resembling coach windows"
The window ledge serves as a table and holds "mildewed books"
Wuthering Heights has a back-kitchen with a hearth and wooden ladder to garret
The path between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Park is marked with "upright stones" spaced "six or seven yards" apart, "daubed with lime"
Distance from gate to Grange is "two miles"
Books and writings:
Catherine's books include a Testament "in lean type"
Books are heavily annotated with "pen-and-ink commentary" in "unformed, childish hand"
One book title visible: "Seventy Times Seven, and the First of the Seventy-First. A Pious Discourse delivered by the Reverend Jabez Branderham, in the Chapel of Gimmerden Sough"
Other religious books mentioned in diary: "Th' Helmet o' Salvation" and "T' Brooad Way to Destruction"
Household details:
Normal routine is "Always at nine in winter, and rise at four"
Dogs are kept unchained in the yard at night, including one named Juno
The house has narrow lobbies and passages
Critical temporal information:
Catherine's book inscription shows "a date some quarter of a century back" (25 years ago from present)
In the supernatural encounter, Catherine's spirit claims: "It is twenty years...I've been a waif for twenty years!"
This creates a 5-year discrepancy: if Catherine wrote in the books 25 years ago as a child, but has been dead for only 20 years, she lived 5 years beyond her childhood writings
Catherine's diary entries refer to a time when "T' maister nobbut just buried" (the master just buried), indicating her father had recently died when she was writing
The servant woman has "only lived there a year or two"
No significant character changes are evident since this appears to be Lockwood's first extended stay at Wuthering Heights. However, the revelation of Catherine's past presence in this room, and Heathcliff's extreme emotional reaction, suggests profound changes have occurred in the household since Catherine's time.
New threads introduced:
The mystery of Catherine Earnshaw/Heathcliff/Linton and her multiple surnames
The supernatural element - is Catherine's spirit real or psychological?
The tragic history between Heathcliff and Catherine
The current tensions in the Heathcliff household
Threads advanced:
Lockwood's relationship with the Heights household becomes more complex
The true nature of Heathcliff's character begins to emerge through his emotional breakdown
Questions raised:
Who was Catherine and what happened to her?
Why does she have three different surnames?
Is the supernatural encounter real or fever-dream?
What is the exact relationship between all these characters?
Supernatural elements: The ghost encounter establishes the Gothic supernatural tone and Catherine's continued presence in the story despite apparent death.
Catherine's identity mystery: The three name variations (Earnshaw, Heathcliff, Linton) suggest a complex personal history involving multiple families/marriages.
Heathcliff's passionate nature: His breakdown when Catherine is mentioned reveals depths of emotion that contrast with his harsh daytime demeanor, promising future revelation of their relationship.
The chamber's significance: Heathcliff's reluctance to let anyone stay in this room suggests it holds special meaning related to Catherine.
Historical context: Catherine's diary entries about Hindley's tyranny over her and Heathcliff as children sets up the foundation for understanding current household dynamics.
The chapter establishes Catherine as the central mystery of the novel, with her presence felt throughout despite her apparent death 20 years prior, and positions her relationship with Heathcliff as the emotional core of the story.