Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë & Emily Brontë
Contents
Wuthering Heights — CHAPTER V
Overview
Mr. Earnshaw’s failing health intensifies his favoritism toward Heathcliff, provoking Hindley’s removal to college and deepening household tensions. Joseph’s religious zeal sways the ailing master, while Catherine’s unruly affection for Heathcliff grows. The chapter culminates in Mr. Earnshaw’s death, leaving the family bereft and the household poised for power shifts.
Summary
As Mr. Earnshaw’s health fails, his irritability grows, especially when anyone crosses Heathcliff. To defuse conflict, the curate advises sending Hindley to college; Mr. Earnshaw agrees reluctantly, confirming his low opinion of his son and further centering Heathcliff within the household.
Joseph exploits Mr. Earnshaw’s weakness with relentless piety, urging stricter rule and painting Hindley as reprobate while blaming Catherine for mischief. Catherine’s high spirits and dominance in play, especially over Heathcliff, inflame household friction. Mr. Earnshaw’s strictness clashes with Catherine’s provocations, and her attempts at nightly reconciliation are rebuffed, hardening her defiance.
One October evening, the family sits by the fire: Catherine, recently ill, rests at Mr. Earnshaw’s knee, and Heathcliff lies with his head in Catherine’s lap. Catherine sings softly as Mr. Earnshaw dozes. When Joseph moves to rouse him for prayers, they discover he has died quietly in his chair.
Catherine and Heathcliff break into grief, joined by Nelly, while Joseph calls their wailing unseemly for a saint. Nelly braves the storm to fetch the doctor; the parson promises to come in the morning. Later, Nelly finds the children comforting each other with innocent visions of heaven, their bond strengthened by shared loss.
Who Appears
- Mr. EarnshawAiling patriarch; fiercely protective of Heathcliff; sends Hindley to college; dies peacefully by the fireside.
- Catherine Earnshaw (Cathy)High-spirited and mischievous; deeply attached to Heathcliff; clashes with her father; grieves intensely at his death.
- HeathcliffMr. Earnshaw’s favored boy; obedient to Catherine more than others; shares Catherine’s grief at Earnshaw’s death.
- JosephPious servant; gains influence over the ailing master; condemns Catherine; insists on propriety after the death.
- Hindley EarnshawResentful son; sent away to college on the curate’s advice, removing immediate household conflict.
- Nelly Dean (Ellen)Narrator and servant; observes tensions, fetches the doctor, and witnesses the children’s shared consolation.
- The curateAdvises sending Hindley to college; his counsel shapes the household’s interim peace.
- The doctorArrives after Mr. Earnshaw’s death, summoned by Nelly during the storm.