Mr. Earnshaw - Patriarch of the family; dies in this chapter
Physical details: Becomes confined to chimney-corner, grows weak, carries a stick, has "sinking frame"
Personality: Becomes "grievously irritable" as health fails, painfully jealous of any slights against Heathcliff, strict and grave with children, doesn't understand jokes
Key actions: Fails in health, nearly strikes Hindley with stick twice or thrice, agrees to send Hindley to college, dies quietly in his chair by fireside one October evening
Relationships: Father to Hindley and Catherine, shows extreme favoritism toward Heathcliff
Hindley Earnshaw - Mr. Earnshaw's son
Role: Mentioned/referenced, sent away to college
Personality: Shows "manifestation of scorn" toward Heathcliff
Key actions: Displays contempt that enrages his father, gets sent to college
Relationships: Son of Mr. Earnshaw, brother to Catherine
Heathcliff - Mr. Earnshaw's favorite foundling
Physical details: Lying on floor with head in Catherine's lap at death scene
Personality: Has "pride and black tempers," obeys Catherine's bidding in anything, obeys Mr. Earnshaw only when it suits his inclination
Key actions: Benefits from Mr. Earnshaw's protection, cries heart-breakingly at Earnshaw's death
Relationships: Mr. Earnshaw's favorite, very close to Catherine
Catherine ("Miss Cathy") Earnshaw - Mr. Earnshaw's daughter
Physical details: "bonniest eye, the sweetest smile, and lightest foot in the parish," "bonny hair"
Personality: "Wild, wicked slip," spirits "always at high-water mark," tongue always going, mischievous, fond of acting "little mistress," bold and saucy, becomes hardened by continual repulsion
Key actions: Constantly causes mischief, provokes her father, commands companions, sings father to sleep before his death, discovers his death and screams
Relationships: Daughter to Mr. Earnshaw, sister to Hindley, "much too fond of Heathcliff"
Nelly Dean (narrator) - Housekeeper/servant
Role: Present throughout, narrating to someone addressed as "sir"
Key actions: Knitting by hearth during death scene, refuses to tolerate Catherine's slapping and ordering, fetches doctor after death
Relationships: Servant to the family, acts as caretaker
Joseph - Servant at Wuthering Heights
Physical details: Described as someone the listener "saw...up yonder"
Personality: "wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee," has "knack of sermonising and pious discoursing," relentless in religious concerns
Key actions: Influences weakening Mr. Earnshaw, tells tales against Heathcliff and Catherine, discovers Mr. Earnshaw's death, sends Nelly for doctor and parson
Relationships: Servant, gains increasing influence over Mr. Earnshaw
The Curate - Local clergyman/teacher
Role: Mentioned only
Key actions: Teaches "the little Lintons and Earnshaws," farms his own land, advises sending Hindley to college
Relationships: Educator to both Earnshaw and Linton families
The Doctor and Parson from Gimmerton - Medical/religious figures
Role: Summoned after death
Key actions: Doctor comes immediately, parson says he'll come in the morning
General timeframe: "In the course of time" after previous events, ending on "one October evening"
Sequence of events: 1. Mr. Earnshaw's health begins to fail - becomes confined to chimney-corner and irritable 2. Hindley shows scorn toward Heathcliff while father is present, enraging Mr. Earnshaw twice or thrice 3. Curate advises sending Hindley to college; Mr. Earnshaw agrees reluctantly 4. Hindley departs for college 5. Joseph gains increasing influence over the weakening Mr. Earnshaw 6. Catherine continues her wild behavior despite father's illness 7. October evening: Death scene occurs
Catherine is sick, making her unusually still
Family gathered around fire: Nelly knitting, Joseph reading Bible, Catherine leaning against father's knee, Heathcliff lying with head in Catherine's lap
Mr. Earnshaw strokes Catherine's hair, has final conversation
Catherine sings him to sleep
All remain quiet for half hour
Joseph tries to wake him for prayers, discovers death
Catherine discovers death, both children cry heartbrokenly
Physical details:
The house has a chimney-corner where Mr. Earnshaw sits
There's a hearth with fireside seating
Servants generally sit in the house after work is done
Children's room has a door that can be left ajar
Gimmerton is the nearest town with doctor and parson
Weather: High wind "blustered round the house, and roared in the chimney" on death night - "wild and stormy, yet it was not cold"
Backstory revealed:
The family previously had a curate who taught both Earnshaw and Linton children
Mr. Earnshaw was formerly "active and healthy"
Catherine's mother is deceased (reference to "I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever reared thee")
October evening - specific timeframe for Mr. Earnshaw's death Past midnight - when Nelly checks on children after death Mr. Earnshaw quotes: "I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever reared thee" - indicates Catherine's mother is dead No specific ages given in this chapter
Catherine: Described as sick on the night of death, which makes her "still" - unusual for her normally energetic character Mr. Earnshaw: Dramatic decline from "active and healthy" to confined and weak (timeline of decline not specified) Joseph: Has gained significant influence over Mr. Earnshaw during his decline
New threads introduced:
Mr. Earnshaw's death creates major change in household dynamics
Hindley's absence at college removes one source of conflict but leaves questions about his return
Threads advanced:
Heathcliff and Catherine's bond deepened through shared grief
Joseph's growing influence established as future concern
Threads resolved:
Mr. Earnshaw's declining health and irritability resolved by death
Immediate household conflicts involving Hindley removed by his departure
Joseph's influence: His manipulation of the dying Mr. Earnshaw and constant complaints about Heathcliff and Catherine suggest future conflict when a new authority structure emerges
Hindley's college departure: Mr. Earnshaw's comment "Hindley was nought, and would never thrive as where he wandered" suggests problems when he returns
Children's bond: The image of Heathcliff and Catherine comforting each other "with better thoughts than I could have hit on" emphasizes their spiritual connection and mutual dependence
Catherine's defiant nature: Her increasing boldness and hardening against authority suggests future rebellions
The orphaned state: With Mr. Earnshaw dead and Hindley away, the power structure at Wuthering Heights is now unclear, setting up potential conflicts over authority and Heathcliff's position