Wuthering Heights · Chapter
III explained
Lockwood spends a restless night at Wuthering Heights, discovering Catherine Earnshaw's name carved repeatedly in the window ledge and reading her childhood diary.
What happens
Lockwood spends a restless night at Wuthering Heights, discovering Catherine Earnshaw's name carved repeatedly in the window ledge and reading her childhood diary. He has a nightmare about her ghost, which provokes a violent emotional outburst from Heathcliff, who begs Catherine's spirit to return. The next morning, Lockwood leaves the house, guided by Heathcliff across the snow-covered moor.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural and the Ghostly
Catherine's ghost appears to Lockwood in a nightmare, and Heathcliff's anguished plea for her spirit to return underscores the haunting presence of the dead.
Isolation and Alienation
Lockwood feels trapped and isolated in the hostile environment of Wuthering Heights, and Heathcliff's grief reveals his profound emotional isolation.
Cruelty and Power
Hindley's tyrannical treatment of Heathcliff and Catherine, as recorded in the diary, exemplifies the abuse of power within the household.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Lockwood
Narrates his disturbing night at Wuthering Heights, including his nightmare and discovery of Catherine's diary.
- Heathcliff
Reacted with savage vehemence to Lockwood's mention of Catherine, then sobbed and begged her ghost to return.
- Catherine Earnshaw
Her name is repeatedly carved in the window ledge; her ghost appears in Lockwood's nightmare and is desperately summoned by Heathcliff.
- Joseph
Caricatured in Catherine's diary as a stern religious figure who forces long sermons.
- Hindley Earnshaw
Described in Catherine's diary as a detestable tyrant who mistreats Heathcliff and Catherine.
- Nelly Dean
Mentioned as the housekeeper who led Lockwood upstairs and noted the master's odd notions about the chamber.
Key passages
“I'm not going to endure the persecutions of your hospitable ancestors again. Was not the Reverend Jabez Branderham akin to you on the mother's side? And that minx, Catherine Linton, or Earnshaw, or however she was called—she must have been a changeling—wicked little soul! She told me she had been walking the earth these twenty years: a just punishment for her mortal transgressions, I've no doubt!”
Lockwood complains to Heathcliff about his nightmare, accusing Catherine's ghost of haunting him and suggesting she deserves her restless state.
Lockwood's outburst reveals his fear and irritation, and inadvertently triggers Heathcliff's intense emotional reaction.
“Come in! come in! he sobbed. Cathy, do come. Oh, do— once more! Oh! my heart's darling! hear me this time, Catherine, at last!”
Heathcliff, overcome with grief, desperately calls out to Catherine's ghost, begging her to return to him.
This moment exposes Heathcliff's deep, tormented love for Catherine and the supernatural hold she has over him.