Wuthering Heights — CHAPTER XXV

Nelly tells Lockwood that the events occurred the previous winter and teases his interest in Catherine Linton. Lockwood admits affection is possible but says he must soon return to the world. Nelly then explains that Catherine obeyed Edgar’s ban on visiting the Heights, out of deep affection for her father.

Edgar, sensing death near, fears leaving Catherine unprotected. He asks Nelly’s opinion of Linton. Nelly judges Linton delicate and malleable, not like Heathcliff, and suggests time remains before any marriage. Edgar reflects on his happiness with Catherine and his resignation to death, torn between protecting her and not crushing her spirit.

Spring brings no true recovery for Edgar, though Catherine misreads his flushed looks as improvement. On Catherine’s seventeenth birthday, Edgar stays in, writes to Linton, and receives a reply—clearly coached—saying Heathcliff forbids visits to the Grange but begging for meetings elsewhere under Edgar’s eye. The plea emphasizes separation and loneliness.

Edgar refuses unsupervised meetings but continues correspondence, offering advice while acknowledging the boy’s hard home life. Under Heathcliff’s strict oversight, Linton suppresses complaints and repeatedly presses for an interview, hinting Edgar’s promises might be empty if delayed.

With Catherine’s urging, Edgar finally agrees to weekly rides or walks with Linton on the nearest moors, under Nelly’s guardianship, as his own health declines. Edgar hopes a union with his heir will let Catherine keep or regain the Grange, not realizing Linton is failing and being forced by Heathcliff to pursue these meetings.