Mr. Heathcliff - The master of Wuthering Heights
Physical: Pale, trembling, bloodless hue, black long hair, deep black eyes, sharp white teeth, hollow cheeks, blood-shot eyes
Present throughout most of chapter, dies at the end
Exhibits strange behavior - excited, wild, glad expression contrasting with usual demeanor
Stops eating for four days, wanders at night
Shows signs of seeing/communicating with something invisible to others
Found dead in the paneled bedroom with window open, rain-soaked
Buried with only his surname "Heathcliff" on headstone
Nelly Dean (narrator) - The housekeeper
Present throughout, tells the story to Mr. Lockwood
Observes and cares for Heathcliff during his final days
Discovers his body and arranges burial
Mentions she tended him in infancy and watched him grow
Catherine (Cathy) - Hareton's cousin
Present in early scenes, gathering primrose roots for garden
Reports Heathcliff's strange cheerful demeanor
Draws away from Heathcliff in fear during his final days
Plans to marry Hareton on New Year's Day and move to Thrushcross Grange
Hareton Earnshaw - Catherine's cousin
Has "perfectly recovered from his accident" (referenced from previous chapter)
Helps Catherine with gardening
Grieves most deeply at Heathcliff's death, sits by corpse all night weeping
Plans to marry Catherine and move to Grange
Described as "the most wronged" but having "a generous heart"
Joseph - Elderly servant
Complains about Catherine's garden placement
Refuses to help prepare Heathcliff's body after death
Calls Heathcliff wicked, thanks God for his death
Will remain to care for Wuthering Heights with a lad companion
Claims to have seen ghostly apparitions of Heathcliff and a woman
Mr. Kenneth - The doctor
Called to examine Heathcliff but refused entry
Perplexed about cause of Heathcliff's death
Nelly conceals the four-day fast from him
Mr. Green - Lawyer (mentioned)
Mr. Lockwood - Visitor/listener to Nelly's story
Present in final scene, leaves payment for Nelly
Visits the churchyard and sees the three headstones
Will presumably leave the area
Edgar Linton - Deceased (referenced)
Time Setting: April, pleasant spring weather
Day 1: Evening - Heathcliff goes out at night, doesn't return until morning
Morning: Catherine reports seeing Heathcliff looking "almost bright and cheerful...very much excited, and wild, and glad"
Noon: Heathcliff sits for dinner but abandons food, walks in garden
Afternoon: Returns to eat but still appears agitated, requests to be left alone
Evening (8 o'clock): Nelly brings supper and candle, sees his frightful appearance
Night: Heathcliff goes to paneled bedroom
Day 2: Dawn - Nelly checks for footprints (finds none)
Morning: Heathcliff gives farming directions to Joseph, stares at invisible object
Afternoon: Asks for company, rejected by Nelly, approaches Catherine who draws away
Evening: Goes to his chamber
Day 3: All night and into morning - Heathcliff groans and mutters
Mr. Kenneth called but refused entry
Evening: Heavy rain begins
Day 4: Dawn - Nelly discovers Heathcliff's body in paneled bedroom
Rain has been pouring through open window all night
Burial arrangements made
Later: Burial takes place in evening as Heathcliff requested
Small attendance: Earnshaw, Nelly, sexton, six pallbearers
Hareton places green sods over grave
Present conversation: Nelly tells Lockwood about upcoming marriage on New Year's Day
The house has dwarf apple trees near the southern wall
The paneled bedroom has a window "wide enough for anybody to get through"
Heathcliff's grave has only "Heathcliff" and death date on headstone (no surname, age unknown)
Joseph will remain at Wuthering Heights with a lad companion
Catherine and Hareton will move to Thrushcross Grange after marriage
The church/kirk is showing decay after seven months - broken windows, loose slates
Three headstones exist: Edgar Linton's (with turf/moss), Heathcliff's (still bare), and a middle grey one half-buried in heath
Nelly mentions Heathcliff lived "a selfish, unchristian life" since age thirteen
Catherine and Hareton plan to marry on "New Year's Day"
Seven months have passed since some previous time (Lockwood's earlier visit)
Heathcliff fasted for four days before death
About a month before the telling, Nelly encountered a boy who saw ghostly figures
Heathcliff's dramatic personality shift from his usual dark demeanor to appearing excited, wild, and glad
His sudden inability to eat despite apparent hunger
His fixation on something invisible to others
New threads:
Mystery of what Heathcliff sees that others cannot
Question of whether supernatural elements are real or imagined
Threads advanced:
Heathcliff's deteriorating mental/physical state reaches climax
Catherine and Hareton's relationship progresses to marriage plans
Threads resolved:
Heathcliff's life and reign of terror ends with his death
The property will transfer to the younger generation
Heathcliff's detailed burial instructions suggest premeditation
His statement "I am within sight of my heaven...hardly three feet to sever me" foreshadows his death
The mention of ghost sightings sets up supernatural ambiguity
The description of the three headstones provides symbolic closure
Key quotes:
"Last night I was on the threshold of hell. To-day, I am within sight of my heaven."
"My soul's bliss kills my body, but does not satisfy itself."
"I have nearly attained my heaven; and that of others is altogether unvalued and uncoveted by me."
The chapter serves as Heathcliff's death scene and the beginning of resolution for the novel's central conflicts.