Catherine Earnshaw

"She was a wild, wicked slip of a girl. She burned too bright for this world."

Catherine Earnshaw Linton, or Cathy, is the secondary protagonist in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw, the younger sister of Hindley Earnshaw, the adoptive sister/soulmate of Heathcliff, the wife of Edgar Linton, and the mother of Cathy Linton.

Having grown up with him as children, both Catherine and Heathcliff were also intense lovers. But when she falls in love with Edgar, she finds herself caught in a love triangle and ends up ruining the lives of both men who love her.

Description
Catherine Earnshaw is often seen as an unusual and unique heroine. She typically has 2 kinds of forms: one is her wild-self, where she loves to run around the Yorkshire moors with her beloved soulmate Heathcliff and acting like a tomboy. And there is her lady-self. After her encounter with the Linton's and being treated by them, she acts more girly and noble, wearing lady dresses and talking in a different tone. She is also able to switch her forms depending on who she enjoys being with the most.

Catherine is a woman loved by two men. One is Heathcliff, who she would rather spend the rest of her life with. They love being in the moors for it offered her freedom far from society. The other is Edgar, for she had to live a lifestyle where she can't do what she wants but can be part of higher social-class. Deep down, Catherine loved Heathcliff the most and towards her death, she ends up wanting to abandon Edgar and be with Heathcliff, hoping she would be forgiven and they would be together for eternity.

After her death, she is not buried in the Linton family crypt or with her immediate family. She is interred in the corner of a kirkyard in the middle of the moors. Once she becomes a ghost, she is able to have all her happiness and freedom to be in the place she loves the most. She also desperately wants to see Heathcliff again in Wuthering Heights, since her apparition may have been roaming around the area, begging Mr. Lockwood to let her in and appearing before Heathcliff during his final days. In the end, she and Heathcliff will forever haunt the moors and make it their permeant home.

Early life/Relationship with Heathcliff and the Linton's
Catherine Earnshaw was born around 1765, the second child and only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw. She was raised at the family's home Wuthering Heights in Yorkshire, alongside her older brother Hindley and their nursemaid's daughter Nelly.

When Catherine was about 6 years old, her father prepares to go on a business trip to Liverpool. Before he departs, he asks his children what they would like him to bring back. Catherine requests a whip since she was already becoming good at riding horses, and Hindley wants a fiddle. After Mr. Earnshaw leaves, Catherine is anxious and eager for her father's return, even constantly going to the front gates awaiting his arrival.

A few days afterwards, Mr. Earnshaw finally comes home. The whip that Catherine wanted was lost on the way back home. After her father walks through the door and rests from his exhausting trip, Catherine could spot a young boy just around her age; filthy and poor that Mr. Earnshaw founded on the streets of Liverpool. He was named Heathcliff and adopted into the family by her father. Catherine originally resented the new family addition, but she warms up to him and the two of them become close friends. Her mother died less than two years later.

A couple of years go by. Mr. Earnshaw's health fails, Hindley is away at college, and Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship is now even more affectionate than in their childhood. One of Catherine's favorite things to do with Heathcliff is exploring the Yorkshire moors but always has a tendency of ending up in trouble. She was often scolded by her father for her rebellious behaviour, but still loves him anyway. One night, Catherine and Heathcliff were gathered around Mr. Earnshaw as he sat in his chair. She falls asleep but when she wakes up, she saw he had passed away and both she and Heathcliff shed tears. They felt better afterwards when they believe that Heaven was now becoming a better place for him.

Hindley returns home and becomes the new owner of the Heights. Catherine and Heathcliff continue to go out in the moors and have fun, since he always sought comfort with her after being abused by the new master. One night, the two of them sneak over to their neighbouring house Thrushcross Grange and spy on the Linton family. Both Heathcliff and Catherine mockingly gawk at the two Linton children Edgar and Isabella, until the two spies were quickly spotted. The young couple try to escape, but Catherine is bitten on the heel by the Linton's guard dog. She begs Heathcliff to flee without her, but he tries to save her instead. The Linton's find her injured and they bring her inside for her to recover.

Catherine would spend the next 5 weeks at the Grange being nursed back to health by the Linton's. During those weeks, she was being pampered and taught by Mrs. Linton to be a proper, noble woman and she begins to get along with Edgar and Isabella.

Catherine returns to the Heights wearing a noble dress. She greets Heathcliff by kissing him, but criticizes his dirty appearance. The Linton's come over for Christmas, but Catherine is disapproved of the way her brother is treating Heathcliff. After he is locked away in his room for throwing applesauce at Edgar, Catherine scolds her friend for insulting Heathcliff and sneaks up to the attic to see him.

By 1778, she spends most of her time with the Linton's and behaves like a proper woman whenever she is with them, but acts like her normal self when she is with Heathcliff. When she tells him that Edgar and Isabella are invited to visit, he confronts her on being more closer with them, while she retorts that he is dumb and dull.

Catherine is alone in a room with Edgar and Nelly just after Heathcliff storms out. She tells Nelly to leave and when she refuses, she angrily pinches her, shakes her baby nephew Hareton and hits Edgar. She begs Edgar not to go after he plans to leave, shocked from her sudden outburst. Later, when her brother returns home drunk, both she and Edgar were alone together when she apologizes for what had happened. The two make up and make their love confessions.

The following evening, Catherine meets Nelly in the kitchen and informs her that she had just been betrothed to Edgar. She wasn't sure why she has accepted his engagement, but mainly because he is rich and would like to live a lavish lifestyle like him. She also comments that she had a dream where she was in Heaven and wasn't happy there so the angels had returned her to Earth and back to the Heights. She confesses that she cannot marry Heathcliff for fear that she would degrade herself, but she states that she still loves him so much that they are essentially the same person with kindred spirits.

While she was talking, Heathcliff had been listening to some of her conversation and ran away from the Heights. After finding out he disappeared, Catherine runs outside during a rainstorm and desperately tries to find him. She develops a fever and nursed back to health by the Linton's. But in addition, they would both die from the illness.

Married Life at Thrushcross Grange
3 years later, Catherine and Edgar got married and moved to the Grange. By now, Nelly also lives at the Grange with the newlyweds. For the next 6 months after their wedding, everything was fine. One evening, Heathcliff arrives at the Grange, appearing as a well-dressed, proper man. Catherine is frantic and excited to see him after such a long time, but her husband isn't approved of seeing Heathcliff.

The three of them have a conversation and Catherine learns that Heathcliff is staying over at the Heights as part of his plan of revenge. Later that evening, she talks to Nelly, saying that Edgar is jealous of him and doesn't like to hear her talk about the new Heathcliff. Catherine and her sister-in-law Isabella visit the Heights often. She feels worried when Isabella starts to fall in love with Heathcliff and she warns her that he is a bad influence on her. She ends up humiliating her by exposing her crush to Heathcliff the next time he comes over to the Grange. When she sees that her former soulmate embraced Isabella lovingly, she confronts him about his affections for her, and would convince Edgar to let their marriage happen if he really does love Isabella. But she was told by him that she had wronged him because of her marriage to Edgar and he will extract revenge.

After Edgar is brought in to stop the confrontation, Catherine locks them both in the kitchen and throws the key into the fireplace so she could let them stand off against each other alone; even taunting Edgar to fight back. Heathcliff quickly leaves and she is forced to choose by her husband on what man she loves the most. She responds by locking herself in her room and doesn't come out for 3 days.

Pregnancy, Final illness and Death
Catherine finally unlocks the door and lets Nelly come in and offer her some food, since she hadn't eaten while she confined herself. She thinks that she is dying and worries why Edgar didn't come for her. She feels delirious and as she stares at her reflection in the mirror, becomes obsessed with death and rants about her childhood memories with Heathcliff on the moors. She wants her window opened and when Nelly doesn't do it, Catherine opens it wide herself. She says she can see the Heights from her room and even if she dies soon, she cannot rest until she is with Heathcliff and even says to Edgar she would be dead by spring and he wouldn’t help her. Her health begins to worsen and a doctor is called to have a look at her. She would never fully recover from her illness.

For the next two months, she was confined in bed and treated by Nelly and Edgar. She also finds out she is pregnant with her first child. She continues to feel worse when a letter from Heathcliff was delivered to her a few days later. She is so weak she could barely hold the letter in her hand. Heathcliff arrives as soon as she receives it, and she tells him that both he and Edgar had broken her heart. She cannot bear the thought of her dying while her first love is still living and begs for forgiveness. He does, but tells her that he cannot forgive the pain and heartbreak she allegedly caused herself, and he cannot forgive her "murderer".

As Heathcliff prepares to leave, Catherine begs him to stay with her, and he does until Edgar arrives. She falls from her bed but Heathcliff catches her and places her in her husband's arms before he retreats. Later that evening, at around midnight, Catherine goes into premature labor and gives birth to daughter Catherine Linton. The mother Catherine falls unconscious and dies two hours later.

Catherine's body was put on display for Edgar and Heathcliff to pay their final respects to the woman they both loved. Catherine had a locket with a lock of her and Edgar's hair in it, until Heathcliff replaces Edgar's with his own. Both locks were twined together by Nelly and Catherine's funeral was held shortly afterwards. Hindley was supposed to attend but didn't show up and Isabella wasn't invited. Instead of being interred in the Linton family crypt, Catherine is instead buried in a small churchyard in the moors.

Ghost Apparitions/Hauntings
After her death, Catherine returns as a spirit to haunt the Heights and her soulmate. After he finds out she died, Heathcliff demands her to haunt him and drive him insane, and that she won't ever truly leave him. While this may be uncertain, Catherine may have heard Heathcliff's cries of anguish and accepts it by taking any form in his body. Her possession causes him to act restless and makes him rant about her often.

17 years later, Catherine's grave was allegedly dug up by Heathcliff and opens her coffin. Her body surprisingly has stayed the same since she died and didn't show any signs of decay. He gazes down at her and bribes the sexton to have him buried next to her. Heathcliff originally tried to dig her grave shortly after her death but stops when he hears her sighing in his ear.

A gentleman named Mr. Lockwood arrives at the Heights as a tenant. He stays inside Catherine's old room during a snowstorm, which has become a dedicated shrine to her. Her name was scribbled all over the headboard of the bed and even a couple of diaries written by her describing her relationship with Heathcliff and the conflict between Hindley and Heathcliff. Her ghost may have roamed around the Heights and wanted to come inside. Such as when Lockwood approaches the window to close it in a dream, Catherine's ghostly hand grabs him and she cries "Let me in! Let me in!", saying she has been locked out of the Heights for the past 20 years. She disappears after Lockwood wakes up from the nightmare, and Heathcliff begs for Catherine to come back to him.

Catherine is seen by Heathcliff in his visions and presence, and even speaks to her later on. Her spirit continues to haunt him until his mysterious death. After Heathcliff is buried in the same graveyard with Catherine, the two intense lovers are finally reunited in death and some of the villagers report seeing their spirits walking around the moors, just like how much they loved it when they lived.

Personality/Appearance
Catherine is a lively, free-spirited and adventurous woman. She exhibits this behaviour when she is out on the moors with Heathcliff, since it gave her freedom and happiness from their daily lives at home and society. She was able to be herself when she is outside and enjoys travelling to various different parts of the Yorkshire Moors. She is fearless when wandering on someone else's property, such as when she and Heathcliff went to spy on the Linton's at Thrushcross Grange. Her wild behaviour often ends her up in trouble with her father.

She is also stubborn and selfish, since she gets irritated when she wants to be alone or having to make a decision if she loves Heathcliff or not. Catherine would also lose her temper and lash out to those who are making her irritated, including when she hurt Nelly when she won't leave her alone and shoving Edgar when he was trying to console her. She cannot decide who she is in love with, but she only cares about herself and making the men she loves hurt.

In death, she is restless as a spirit and is wanting to do anything to be let back in the Heights and with Heathcliff. In Lockwood's nightmare, she grabs him and begs to be let back in. Heathcliff often senses her restlessness and understands how much she feels for him to be with her in the afterlife. After nearly ruining her own life by loving another man, she ends up wanting nothing but to be reunited with her true love.

Catherine is described as having brown hair and eyes. During her early life at the Heights and her relationship with Heathcliff, she wore plain clothes, and after meeting the Linton's, she wears fashionable dresses.

Relationships
Heathcliff- The orphaned foundling Catherine grew up with in childhood and who she would deeply love as an adult. She enjoyed exploring the moors with her beloved Heathcliff, but after she was looked after by the Linton's and met their children, Catherine's romance with her soulmate decreases but she ends up being tormented for letting Heathcliff down, even as she tries to beg him for forgiveness. After she dies, she torments Heathcliff herself as a ghost.

Edgar Linton- Catherine's husband, and who she became a wealthy aristocratic like him upon marrying him. She chose to love and marry him over Heathcliff so she could be part of high social status than being degraded. Once Heathcliff comes back into her life, Catherine finds herself being confronted by Edgar who she loves the most; the dark-haired gypsy or her handsome, well-bred husband. In her last days, she was cared for by Edgar and left the world leaving a daughter behind for Edgar to raise alone.

Hindley Earnshaw- Catherine's older brother. Although she hardly had any interaction with her brother, she sees him as a domineering figure towards Heathcliff, and had even recalled some of these incidents in a diary entry that she had kept in one of her journals. In addition, she may also had to follow Hindley's strict rules once he inherits the Heights.

Nelly Dean- Catherine's foster sister and her servant, who also grew up with her alongside with Heathcliff. She can be stubborn with her, especially in one scene where she screamed and pinched at Nelly because she won't leave the room she's in. But she also seems to be the most loyal and understanding person to Catherine. She told her the whole truth about her marriage proposal to Edgar and her intense love with Heathcliff. Catherine continues to be supported and cared for by Nelly during her marriage and final days.

Isabella Linton- Catherine's sister-in-law. While she and Isabella have a decent relationship after they have first met, Catherine's status and personality is much higher and stronger than hers. She had failed to try to stop Isabella from falling in love with Heathcliff, who would not be the perfect match for her.

Appearances in adaptations/Portrayals

 * In the 1939 film adaptation, she is portrayed by Merle Oberson
 * The acclaimed 1978 song "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush is written from the point of view of Cathy. It also references lines from the novel such as "I'm so cold" and "Let me in your window".
 * In the 1992 film adaptation, she is portrayed by Juliette Binoche, who also portrayed Cathy Linton.
 * In the 2009 Masterpiece Theatre adaptation, she is portrayed by Alexandra Pearson as a child and Charlotte Riley as an adult.