Analysis identified 6 issues and 0 strengths.
| Total Issues | 6 |
|---|---|
| Errors | 3 |
| Warnings | 2 |
| Suggestions | 1 |
| Strengths | 0 |
This is a genuine chronological inconsistency. The text establishes that Catherine is 22 when Edgar proposes (Chapter IX), then marries him 3 years after his parents' death, making her approximately 25-26 at marriage. She dies in childbirth shortly after (Chapter XVI). In the frame story (1801), her ghost claims to have been 'a waif for twenty years,' placing her death around 1781. However, her childhood diary is dated 'a quarter of a century back' from 1801 (so around 1776), when she would have been a child (roughly 12 based on the content). If she was 12 in 1776, she was born around 1764, making her only 17 at death in 1781 - not the 25-27 years old she should be based on the Edgar courtship timeline. This represents a significant 8-10 year discrepancy in Catherine's age at death.
"Chapter IX: 'Then I put her through the following catechism: for a girl of twenty-two it was not injudicious.'"
Source: CHAPTER III
"Chapter IX: 'Old Mrs. Linton paid us several visits... But the poor dame had reason to repent of her kindness: she and her husband both took the fever, and died within a few days of each other... Edgar Linton... was infatuated: and believed himself the happiest man alive on the day he led her to Gimmerton Chapel, three years subsequent to his father's death.'"
Source: CHAPTER III
"Chapter III: 'It was a Testament, in lean type, and smelling dreadfully musty: a fly-leaf bore the inscription—"Catherine Earnshaw, her book," and a date some quarter of a century back.'"
Source: CHAPTER III
"Chapter III: 'It is twenty years,' mourned the voice: 'twenty years. I've been a waif for twenty years!'"
Source: CHAPTER III
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died'"
Source: CHAPTER III
"Chapter IX: 'Then I put her through the following catechism: for a girl of twenty-two it was not injudicious.'"
Source: CHAPTER IX
"Chapter IX: 'Old Mrs. Linton paid us several visits... But the poor dame had reason to repent of her kindness: she and her husband both took the fever, and died within a few days of each other... Edgar Linton... was infatuated: and believed himself the happiest man alive on the day he led her to Gimmerton Chapel, three years subsequent to his father's death.'"
Source: CHAPTER IX
"Chapter III: 'It was a Testament, in lean type, and smelling dreadfully musty: a fly-leaf bore the inscription—"Catherine Earnshaw, her book," and a date some quarter of a century back.'"
Source: CHAPTER IX
"Chapter III: 'It is twenty years,' mourned the voice: 'twenty years. I've been a waif for twenty years!'"
Source: CHAPTER IX
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died'"
Source: CHAPTER IX
"Chapter IX: 'Then I put her through the following catechism: for a girl of twenty-two it was not injudicious.'"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter IX: 'Old Mrs. Linton paid us several visits... But the poor dame had reason to repent of her kindness: she and her husband both took the fever, and died within a few days of each other... Edgar Linton... was infatuated: and believed himself the happiest man alive on the day he led her to Gimmerton Chapel, three years subsequent to his father's death.'"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter III: 'It was a Testament, in lean type, and smelling dreadfully musty: a fly-leaf bore the inscription—"Catherine Earnshaw, her book," and a date some quarter of a century back.'"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter III: 'It is twenty years,' mourned the voice: 'twenty years. I've been a waif for twenty years!'"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died'"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
This is a significant chronological error. Hareton is born in Chapter VIII during Frances Earnshaw's childbirth, which occurs after Catherine Earnshaw's marriage to Edgar but before her death. Young Catherine is born in Chapter XVI on the exact night that Catherine Earnshaw dies in childbirth. The timeline establishes that Catherine Earnshaw dies shortly after giving birth to young Catherine, yet Hareton was already born and presumably some age when this happened. However, the math doesn't work: if they were born at different times with Hareton being older, he should be much more than 5 years older, or if Catherine Earnshaw's death/young Catherine's birth happened shortly after Hareton's birth, they should be closer in age. The consistent 5-year age gap (18 vs 13, then 23 vs 18) suggests the author intended them to be 5 years apart, but this contradicts the established timeline of their births relative to Catherine Earnshaw's death.
"Chapter VIII: 'On the morning of a fine June day my first bonny little nursling, and the last of the ancient Earnshaw stock, was born.' [Hareton is born]"
Source: CHAPTER VIII
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died' [Young Catherine is born the night Catherine Earnshaw dies]"
Source: CHAPTER VIII
"Chapter XVIII: 'I entered, and beheld my stray lamb seated on the hearth... to Hareton—now a great, strong lad of eighteen—who stared at her with considerable curiosity' [When Catherine is 13, Hareton is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER VIII
"Chapter XXXIII: 'though he was twenty-three and she eighteen, each had so much of novelty to feel and learn' [Hareton is 23 when Catherine is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER VIII
"Chapter VIII: 'On the morning of a fine June day my first bonny little nursling, and the last of the ancient Earnshaw stock, was born.' [Hareton is born]"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died' [Young Catherine is born the night Catherine Earnshaw dies]"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter XVIII: 'I entered, and beheld my stray lamb seated on the hearth... to Hareton—now a great, strong lad of eighteen—who stared at her with considerable curiosity' [When Catherine is 13, Hareton is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter XXXIII: 'though he was twenty-three and she eighteen, each had so much of novelty to feel and learn' [Hareton is 23 when Catherine is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER XVI
"Chapter VIII: 'On the morning of a fine June day my first bonny little nursling, and the last of the ancient Earnshaw stock, was born.' [Hareton is born]"
Source: CHAPTER XVIII
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died' [Young Catherine is born the night Catherine Earnshaw dies]"
Source: CHAPTER XVIII
"Chapter XVIII: 'I entered, and beheld my stray lamb seated on the hearth... to Hareton—now a great, strong lad of eighteen—who stared at her with considerable curiosity' [When Catherine is 13, Hareton is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER XVIII
"Chapter XXXIII: 'though he was twenty-three and she eighteen, each had so much of novelty to feel and learn' [Hareton is 23 when Catherine is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER XVIII
"Chapter VIII: 'On the morning of a fine June day my first bonny little nursling, and the last of the ancient Earnshaw stock, was born.' [Hareton is born]"
Source: CHAPTER XXXIII
"Chapter XVI: 'About twelve o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died' [Young Catherine is born the night Catherine Earnshaw dies]"
Source: CHAPTER XXXIII
"Chapter XVIII: 'I entered, and beheld my stray lamb seated on the hearth... to Hareton—now a great, strong lad of eighteen—who stared at her with considerable curiosity' [When Catherine is 13, Hareton is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER XXXIII
"Chapter XXXIII: 'though he was twenty-three and she eighteen, each had so much of novelty to feel and learn' [Hareton is 23 when Catherine is 18]"
Source: CHAPTER XXXIII
This is a genuine legal inconsistency in the inheritance plot. The text states that Edgar altered his will to put Catherine's inheritance in trust to prevent it from falling to Heathcliff if Linton died. However, Heathcliff still manages to claim both the moveable property (through Linton's will) AND the lands through 'his wife's right.' This doesn't make legal sense because: 1) If Catherine inherited the lands directly from Edgar, they would be her separate property, not subject to her husband's will; 2) If Edgar put her inheritance in trust, Heathcliff shouldn't be able to claim it through marriage rights; 3) The phrase 'his wife's right and his also' is legally meaningless - Heathcliff can't claim property through both his son's inheritance AND his daughter-in-law's marriage rights simultaneously. The narrator's uncertainty ('I suppose legally') suggests even Brontë recognized this was problematic, but the plot requires Heathcliff to gain control of both properties for the story to work.
""The lands, being a minor, he could not meddle with. However, Mr. Heathcliff has claimed and kept them in his wife's right and his also: I suppose legally; at any rate, Catherine, destitute of cash and friends, cannot disturb his possession.""
Source: CHAPTER XXVIII
""He had bequeathed the whole of his, and what had been her, moveable property, to his father: the poor creature was threatened, or coaxed, into that act during her week's absence, when his uncle died.""
Source: CHAPTER XXVIII
""He determined to put it in the hands of trustees for her use during life, and for her children, if she had any, after her. By that means, it could not fall to Mr. Heathcliff should Linton die.""
Source: CHAPTER XXVIII
""The lands, being a minor, he could not meddle with. However, Mr. Heathcliff has claimed and kept them in his wife's right and his also: I suppose legally; at any rate, Catherine, destitute of cash and friends, cannot disturb his possession.""
Source: CHAPTER XXX
""He had bequeathed the whole of his, and what had been her, moveable property, to his father: the poor creature was threatened, or coaxed, into that act during her week's absence, when his uncle died.""
Source: CHAPTER XXX
""He determined to put it in the hands of trustees for her use during life, and for her children, if she had any, after her. By that means, it could not fall to Mr. Heathcliff should Linton die.""
Source: CHAPTER XXX
This is a legitimate narrative gap. Heathcliff leaves as a degraded, uneducated foundling in Chapter VII and returns in Chapter X as a wealthy, refined gentleman with military bearing who can gamble large sums and eventually owns both properties through mortgage debts. The transformation occurs in just 3 years (he was gone from approximately 1778 to when he returns 'three years later'). While Mrs. Dean explicitly states she doesn't know how he acquired his wealth or education, this represents a significant unexplained transformation that strains credibility. The mystery may be intentional for Gothic effect, but it remains an unexplained change in the character's circumstances and abilities.
"He had grown a tall, athletic, well-formed man; beside whom my master seemed quite slender and youth-like. His upright carriage suggested the idea of his having been in the army. His countenance was much older in expression and decision of feature than Mr. Linton's; it looked intelligent, and retained no marks of former degradation."
Source: CHAPTER VII
"A half-civilised ferocity lurked yet in the depressed brows and eyes full of black fire, but it was subdued; and his manner was even dignified: quite divested of roughness, though too stern for grace."
Source: CHAPTER VII
"There were some persons sitting at cards; Heathcliff joined them; my brother lost some money to him, and, finding him plentifully supplied, he requested that he would come again in the evening"
Source: CHAPTER VII
"I couldn't give my word for any. I stated before that I didn't know how he gained his money; neither am I aware of the means he took to raise his mind from the savage ignorance into which it was sunk"
Source: CHAPTER VII
"The whole property is mortgaged, and the sole chance for the natural heir is to allow him an opportunity of creating some interest in the creditor's heart... Earnshaw had mortgaged every yard of land he owned for cash to supply his mania for gaming; and he, Heathcliff, was the mortgagee."
Source: CHAPTER VII
"He had grown a tall, athletic, well-formed man; beside whom my master seemed quite slender and youth-like. His upright carriage suggested the idea of his having been in the army. His countenance was much older in expression and decision of feature than Mr. Linton's; it looked intelligent, and retained no marks of former degradation."
Source: CHAPTER X
"A half-civilised ferocity lurked yet in the depressed brows and eyes full of black fire, but it was subdued; and his manner was even dignified: quite divested of roughness, though too stern for grace."
Source: CHAPTER X
"There were some persons sitting at cards; Heathcliff joined them; my brother lost some money to him, and, finding him plentifully supplied, he requested that he would come again in the evening"
Source: CHAPTER X
"I couldn't give my word for any. I stated before that I didn't know how he gained his money; neither am I aware of the means he took to raise his mind from the savage ignorance into which it was sunk"
Source: CHAPTER X
"The whole property is mortgaged, and the sole chance for the natural heir is to allow him an opportunity of creating some interest in the creditor's heart... Earnshaw had mortgaged every yard of land he owned for cash to supply his mania for gaming; and he, Heathcliff, was the mortgagee."
Source: CHAPTER X
"He had grown a tall, athletic, well-formed man; beside whom my master seemed quite slender and youth-like. His upright carriage suggested the idea of his having been in the army. His countenance was much older in expression and decision of feature than Mr. Linton's; it looked intelligent, and retained no marks of former degradation."
Source: CHAPTER XVII
"A half-civilised ferocity lurked yet in the depressed brows and eyes full of black fire, but it was subdued; and his manner was even dignified: quite divested of roughness, though too stern for grace."
Source: CHAPTER XVII
"There were some persons sitting at cards; Heathcliff joined them; my brother lost some money to him, and, finding him plentifully supplied, he requested that he would come again in the evening"
Source: CHAPTER XVII
"I couldn't give my word for any. I stated before that I didn't know how he gained his money; neither am I aware of the means he took to raise his mind from the savage ignorance into which it was sunk"
Source: CHAPTER XVII
"The whole property is mortgaged, and the sole chance for the natural heir is to allow him an opportunity of creating some interest in the creditor's heart... Earnshaw had mortgaged every yard of land he owned for cash to supply his mania for gaming; and he, Heathcliff, was the mortgagee."
Source: CHAPTER XVII
This is a legitimate narrative inconsistency. Lockwood explicitly states he has been ill for 'four weeks' and is too weak to read, requiring regular medicine every twenty minutes. Yet during this brief recovery period, Nelly Dean manages to narrate an extraordinarily detailed multi-generational saga spanning approximately 30+ years (from Heathcliff's childhood arrival through multiple deaths, marriages, and complex character developments). The sheer volume of dialogue, intricate plot details, character psychology, and chronological events she recounts would realistically require many weeks or months to tell, not the few days of conversation suggested by Lockwood's illness timeline. Additionally, Nelly supposedly has ongoing household duties during this period, making such extensive storytelling sessions implausible. While this is a common issue in frame narratives, it represents a structural weakness in the novel's realism.
"Four weeks' torture, tossing, and sickness! Oh, these bleak winds and bitter northern skies, and impassable roads, and dilatory country surgeons! And oh, this dearth of the human physiognomy! and, worse than all, the terrible intimation of Kenneth that I need not expect to be out of doors till spring!"
Source: CHAPTER X
"Mr. Heathcliff has just honoured me with a call. About seven days ago he sent me a brace of grouse—the last of the season."
Source: CHAPTER X
"It wants twenty minutes, sir, to taking the medicine"
Source: CHAPTER X
"I am too weak to read; yet I feel as if I could enjoy something interesting. Why not have up Mrs. Dean to finish her tale?"
Source: CHAPTER X
"Four weeks' torture, tossing, and sickness! Oh, these bleak winds and bitter northern skies, and impassable roads, and dilatory country surgeons! And oh, this dearth of the human physiognomy! and, worse than all, the terrible intimation of Kenneth that I need not expect to be out of doors till spring!"
Source: CHAPTER XXXII
"Mr. Heathcliff has just honoured me with a call. About seven days ago he sent me a brace of grouse—the last of the season."
Source: CHAPTER XXXII
"It wants twenty minutes, sir, to taking the medicine"
Source: CHAPTER XXXII
"I am too weak to read; yet I feel as if I could enjoy something interesting. Why not have up Mrs. Dean to finish her tale?"
Source: CHAPTER XXXII
There is indeed a 5-year discrepancy in the timeline. Catherine's books show inscriptions from 'a quarter of a century back' (25 years ago), while her ghost claims to have been 'a waif for twenty years.' This suggests Catherine lived for approximately 5 years after writing in those books as a child before dying and becoming a ghost. However, this is not necessarily an inconsistency - it's actually consistent with what we learn later: Catherine wrote in the books as a child after her father's death, lived to adulthood, married Edgar Linton, and died in childbirth. The 5-year gap represents her transition from childhood (when she wrote the diary entries) to her death as an adult. The issue is more about unclear exposition than actual contradiction, making it a 'suggestion' rather than an 'error' - the timeline works, but could be clearer to readers.
"It was a Testament, in lean type, and smelling dreadfully musty: a fly-leaf bore the inscription—'Catherine Earnshaw, her book,' and a date some quarter of a century back."
Source: CHAPTER III
"'It is twenty years,' mourned the voice: 'twenty years. I've been a waif for twenty years!'"
Source: CHAPTER III