Heathcliff

"I love my murderer--but yours? How can I?"

- Chapter 15

Mr. Heathcliff, or Heathcliff, is the main protagonist and anti-hero in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. He is the adoptive son of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw, adoptive sibling of Hindley Earnshaw and Catherine Earnshaw, as well as his soulmate, the husband of Isabella Linton, and the father of Linton Heathcliff.

Mysteriously adopted into the family as a child, Heathcliff was in love with his foster sister Catherine but after she betrays him, he plans revenge on everyone who had wronged him.

Description
Heathcliff is known to be a mysterious character as his backstory outside of Wuthering Heights is unknown, such as his birth or how he had earned his fortune. He may have even been considered to be an inhuman monster than a human being due to his unexplained backstory. Upon being introduced to the Heights as a child, he was immediately turned down by everyone; except for Mr. Earnshaw and Catherine. After falling in love with his foster sister, he hopes that he would have her forever and simply started off as normal. But after Catherine leaves him to marry another man, Heathcliff transforms from an ordinary human into a dangerous beast-like man, and he would not rest until he has accomplished the one thing he desired since his suffering: to want vengeance against everyone for the way they treated him.

However, some readers may have not known exactly why Heathcliff had become so cruel and hateful to others around him. His intense romance with his soulmate Catherine may had an everlasting effect on him, and that her death made him insane with grief, or that the abuse he had endured had shaped him. In addition, he may not truly be a ruthless villain and had managed to find success later in life after his impoverished, tragic childhood. But he simply cannot find the thing he had always wanted; and it was his love for Catherine.

Like Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre, Heathcliff is seen as a Byronic hero, for he lacks the heroic virtues and is filled with dark, sombre qualities such as being an outcast, moody or emotional traits, etc. He is the loner in Wuthering Heights who no one loved or cared for. Heathcliff is the one character who everyone typically loves to hate, mainly because he's a Byronic character who has deep proudness and virtue in themselves but is often stern and miserable.

Early Years at Wuthering Heights
Heathcliff was a homeless young orphan living on the streets of Liverpool in the mid 1770s. He was discovered by Mr. Earnshaw when he was in town and takes him home to his house Wuthering Heights in Yorkshire. Mr. Earnshaw’s family were shocked to see the strange boy, as he spoke in a language they couldn’t understand and Mrs. Earnshaw wants to throw him out of the house, as they already have two children to look after. Mr. Earnshaw, exhausted from his journey home, explains that when he found the boy, he tried to figure out who he belonged to and none of the locals know where he came from. Since he was in Liverpool for a short time, Mr. Earnshaw ends up taking the child home with him.

Nelly Dean, who grew with the Earnshaw’s as their servant, washed the child, gave him clean clothes and he was to sleep with the children, as ordered by her master. The Earnshaw children, 14-year-old Hindley and 6-year-old Catherine, were disappointed that their father failed to bring them the gifts he promised during his trip. Catherine spat at the gypsy boy and was punished by her father. The children refused to let the boy sleep with them in their beds or be in their rooms. Nelly places the child on the stairs, thinking he will eventually leave the house. But the boy goes to Mr. Earnshaw’s room and the master wants to know how he got there. Nelly confesses what she did and Mr. Earnshaw orders her out of the house. Soon afterward, the boy was christened and named Heathcliff, after a son of the Earnshaw’s who died in infancy. Heathcliff’s christened name would also be his given surname.

Heathcliff and Catherine start to get along, but Hindley hates him as well as Nelly and Mrs. Earnshaw. He was also a quiet child as he would get hurt by Hindley and Nelly and hardly cried or shed a tear, making it look like it was all just an accident. Mr. Earnshaw, however, would get angry when he finds out his son has been bullying his adopted child. Heathcliff was loved and nurtured oddly by Mr. Earnshaw, who prefers him as his favourite than his mischievous daughter.

Heathcliff and Hindley always had a hostile relationship ever since he came into the family; such as the one time Mr. Earnshaw purchased two horses for each of his sons. Heathcliff picked the most attractive horse, but when it falls lame, he wanted Hindley's horse. He fights with him when he doesn't have it and when he does, Hindley threatens that he hopes the horse would "kick his brains out". The Earnshaw matriarch dies about two years after Heathcliff's arrival.

Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship develops into romantic soulmates when they were adults. They would spend most of their time roaming around the Yorkshire moors where they lived. At this time, Mr. Earnshaw was now old and dying, and Hindley was at college. With his opposer gone, Heathcliff became more closer to Catherine as they continue to be alone together. One night, the two were in the sitting room surrounded with their ailing father, and he dies. Heathcliff and Catherine grieve their father's death but they comfort each other, thinking that Heaven is now a better place for him.

After Hindley's return to the Heights and becoming the new owner, Heathcliff receives cruel, abusive treatment at the hands of his foster brother. His education was cut off and was forced to work in the fields, but manages to seek solace by going out into the moors with Catherine.

One night, the pair go to the nearby house Thrushcross Grange and spied on the Linton family's spoiled lifestyle. They watch, gawk and laugh as the Linton's two children Edgar and Isabella are having an argument but quickly alert their parents when they spot Heathcliff and Catherine. The two try to escape, but Catherine is bitten by the Linton's guard dog. He refuses to leave her behind and tries to pry open the dog's jaws to free her. As she was brought into the house, Heathcliff tries to go inside with her, but the Linton's, disgusted by his appearance and think he is a thief, ask him to leave. He briefly watches them before he leaves, and he sees how much Catherine loves the attention from the Linton's. He goes back to the Heights alone, but the entire house is locked up by Hindley as punishment for being out too long. Nelly lets him in and he tells her everything that has happened. He was also told by Hindley to never talk to Catherine again.

5 weeks later, Catherine returns as a well-dressed lady. His reunion with her was very awkward, as he feels insulted when she criticizes his dirty, unkempt face, and grumbles that he likes himself the way he is. The Linton's are invited to the Heights for the Christmas holidays, but Heathcliff is not allowed to attend, and even refuses an offer by Nelly to have him dressed properly and impress Catherine. That morning, he goes out into the moors but when he comes back, he changes his mind and lets Nelly clean him up and dresses in neat, proper clothing so he can please everyone. Once the guests arrive and the celebrations begin, Hindley mocks Heathcliff's clean, neat style and orders him to be locked up in the attic. After Edgar insults Heathcliff's dirty, long hair, he gets angry and throws hot applesauce at Edgar's face. He was taken upstairs by Hindley and locked inside his room, where he is visited by Catherine who came through the rafters to see him.

Later that night, Heathcliff is released from his room by Nelly and taken into the kitchen where he is given some dinner, since he hadn't eaten for about 2 days. Already fed up by Hindley's constant abuse, Heathcliff tells Nelly he is planning to take revenge on him, and hopes he will do it before he dies.

The following summer in 1778, Hindley's wife Frances dies from consumption after giving birth to a son named Hareton. Heathcliff is satisfied at Hindley's suffering, especially when he starts drinking heavily; but in addition, he receives more abuse by him. His relationship with Catherine still stays the same as before and wants to spend the day with her than outside in the moors. When he finds out that Edgar and Isabella are coming over to visit, he confronts her on her relationship with Edgar, who she has already come closer to, and wants her to be with him instead. Heathcliff storms out when Edgar arrives.

As he walks towards the main staircase, he catches Hareton after a drunk Hindley drops him over the bannister. He still has vengeance plans on Hindley, but saves his child anyway on instinct. Later, he hears a conversation between Catherine and Nelly without being noticed. He hears that Catherine had just accepted a marriage proposal from Edgar and that she couldn't marry Heathcliff on fearing that she would degrade herself, just as how much Hindley had degraded Heathcliff. Heartbroken, furious and ashamed, he flees from the Heights and at this point, the reader or Nelly doesn't know what became of him during his absence. He was also unaware that as he runs away, Catherine says that she loves Heathcliff so much to the point that they share kindred spirits and are the same person.

Return to Wuthering Heights
3 years later, Heathcliff returns to the Heights, and is now a well polished and wealthy man. How he had earned his wealth and power remains a mystery. By now, Catherine and Edgar are married and living together at the Grange, where Heathcliff goes first.

He is greeted by Catherine who is happy to see him after a few years, while Edgar isn't very pleased. Heathcliff stays over for tea, and says he has just received an invitation to stay at the Heights by Hindley and then kill himself after he completes his revenge plan. He arrives at the Heights where he joins in a game of cards by Hindley and his men. Heathcliff beats his opponent and wins a sum of money from him as well as finally staying at the house in exchange for rent. Heathcliff continues to see Catherine at the Grange in addition to her visiting him at the Heights. He also meets Isabella Linton, who had already took a romantic interest to him and think he's the perfect match for her.

He begins his revenge against Hindley by turning his son Hareton against him. He teaches the little boy bad words and naughty behaviour, as well as cutting off his education by sending his tutor away. Whenever he goes over to the Grange, he takes more interest in seeing Isabella than Catherine and even embraces her one day when they were in the kitchen. He was confronted by Catherine if he truly has any feelings for Isabella and he states to her that she had wronged him after marrying Edgar and this was his plan of revenge. He is then asked to leave by Edgar, and when he refuses, Edgar summons a group of servants to remove Heathcliff. The two men were both locked up in a room by Catherine to let them fend off each other alone. But the confrontation was just brief as Heathcliff is punched in the neck by Edgar and leaves since he cannot challenge himself against his opponent and his group of servants.

Marriage, Catherine's Death and Descending Into Madness
A couple of nights later, Heathcliff whisks Isabella away from her home and they elope. He brings her back home to the Heights, where he inflicts abuse on her, and even his servants Joseph and Hareton were unfriendly to her. By now, Heathcliff may had found out about Catherine's illness, and in addition, he punishes Isabella for causing Catherine's ailing health instead of Edgar. When Nelly arrives after receiving a word of help from Isabella, Heathcliff wants to go see Catherine at the Grange after finding out she is dying, and threatens to hold Nelly hostage until she agrees to bring a letter over written by him.

After Edgar leaves for church and when Catherine receives his letter, Heathcliff goes inside the Grange and into Catherine's bedroom, where the two of them have an overwhelming, intense conversation about their lost love and never being apart again. Cathy pleads to him for forgiveness which he accepts, but cannot bear to forgive what she had done to herself, since she had killed her own self and he cannot ever forgive a murderer.

Soon afterwards, Edgar returns home from church. Heathcliff prepares to leave but Catherine begs him to stay, and he does. As Edgar enters the room, Heathcliff catches Catherine falling from her bed unconscious and places her in her husband's arms, wanting him to look after her than fight with him. Nelly escorts him out of the bedroom and would tell him about her tomorrow morning. He says he will stay in the garden so he could be near her.

The next day, Heathcliff receives news from Nelly that Catherine has died in childbirth. He could immediately tell what has happened and curses her for the pain she had caused and even begs her spirit to forever haunt him and drive him mad, just so they can still be together. He bashes his head in a tree when he cries out for her spirit.

Later, when Nelly lets Heathcliff into the house to see Catherine's corpse, he replaces Edgar's lock of hair with his own in her locket. After Catherine is laid to rest, Heathcliff and Hindley's conflict grows more violent, to the point where Heathcliff was locked out of the house when he went to pay his respects at Catherine's grave. When he returns, he takes Hindley's gun and shoots him in the wrist, breaks through the glass window and the two of them fight. While the men quarreled, Isabella, now pregnant with Heathcliff's child, goes to the Grange to see Nelly before she flees to London and gave birth to her son Linton. Heathcliff eventually discovered where his wife and son were, but didn’t intend to go after them.

Ownership of Wuthering Heights
6 months after Catherine's death, Hindley dies broke and Heathcliff officially claims the Heights as his own. He also keeps Hareton as his servant and forces him to stay at the Heights, when at the same time, he plans to take his son away from his mother.

13 years pass, and Heathcliff takes control of the Heights. After he hears that his son Linton was brought to the Grange after his mother's death, he becomes determined to have him in his custody and sends his servant Joseph over to the Grange to deliver the news, and the boy was taken to the Heights the next day. But when he finally meets him, he pretendedly does not love Linton, even insulting his mother by calling her a "slut". His real intentions now were to use Linton to have him gain control of the Grange. During that time, Heathcliff is constantly very irritated by his son's weak, whiny voice and demands. He starts to hate his sickly son and cannot stand to be alone with him.

3 years later, Heathcliff and Hareton were out on the moors when they spot Cathy Linton going bird-hunting. The three of them talk, with Cathy asking Heathcliff if he is Hareton's father. He says he isn't, but he does have a son back home he would like her to meet. Back at the Heights, Heathcliff tells Nelly that he hopes Cathy and Linton would be married one day, and when he overhears Cathy criticizing Hareton's illiteracy, he urges his son to go after them.

In October, Heathcliff appears in the moors on horseback and sees Nelly trying to find a key to unlock the wall where Cathy is trapped from behind. He accuses the girl of breaking off her correspondence with Linton and that he may be dying of a broken heart. He also tells her that he will be away from the Heights for about a week and she must visit Linton often. Afterwards, he is absent from the Heights while Cathy goes to the house frequently to see his son.

It was later revealed that throughout this whole time, he has been manipulating and forcing his son to court Cathy in hopes that they would marry and he can claim inheritance of the Grange. He returns to see Nelly and Cathy on the moors. He asks Nelly about Edgar's health and is worried that Linton would die before Edgar. He urges the two women to come back with him to the Heights, but once they arrive there, he immediately holds them hostage and won't release them until Cathy marries Linton. He defends himself from Cathy as she tries to wrestle him and bite his hand to get the key, while Nelly fights back, too, but he fends her off as well. He locks them both into a bedroom in the house. He lets Cathy out from the room but keeps Nelly confined for 5 days. During Cathy's imprisonment, she bribes her belongings to Linton to help her escape, but after he rips her locket from her neck, Heathcliff breaks it by stomping on it and hits her across the mouth until she starts bleeding.

As Edgar is close to death, Heathcliff tips off his opposer's lawyer Mr. Green to prevent the will for Cathy being changed, and once Edgar passes away, Heathcliff officially claims ownership of the Grange. Cathy has married Linton, just as he wanted. After Edgar was laid to rest, he arrives at the Grange and brings Cathy back to the Heights, since she spent her time tending to her dying father. He had punished Linton for allowing his wife to escape, and he tells Cathy that she will stay and work at the Heights to earn her keep.

Heathcliff is asked by Nelly if she can be a housekeeper at the Heights so she could still be with Cathy. He doesn't respond to this request, but says that the previous night, he had dug up his deceased soulmate Catherine's grave and opened her coffin. She had been the same since she died and hadn't decomposed yet; but Heathcliff declares that she will not turn to dust until he joins her underneath the ground. He had even bribed the sexton to have a side of his coffin removed and be buried right next to Catherine. He always feels her presence since her spirit has haunted him for the past 18 years and still hasn't left him. He even claims he had tried to dig up her grave shortly after she was laid to rest, but couldn't go further after he heard Catherine's sighing. When he and Cathy make their way back to the Heights, he tells Nelly she must not come back with them.

Heathcliff forbids anyone from being kind and helpful to Cathy after she is taken into the Heights. He also tends to make her life miserable by confiscating all of her books and making her a servant.

Meeting Mr. Lockwood
In 1801, Heathcliff was now both the owner of the Heights and the Grange. Linton died shortly after marrying Cathy and Heathcliff opens both houses to lodgers. Shortly afterwards, a man from London named Mr. Lockwood takes up tenancy at the Grange and goes over to the Heights to meet Heathcliff for the first time. Even if he was his landlord, Heathcliff doesn't seem to trust the London native after he welcomes him into his home and locks him in a room filled with a pack of dogs. He feels delighted when he finds out Lockwood was nearly attacked by the dogs. But he saves him anyway and offers him some wine. The two discuss about the rental property before Lockwood leaves.

Heathcliff is absent when Lockwood returns to the Heights the next day and when he arrives, he rudely corrects Lockwood when asked if Hareton was his son and Cathy his wife. Heathcliff and the others sit down to dinner, but as Lockwood prepares to leave, Heathcliff's dogs chase and pin him down, while the owner looks on in amusement. In the Heights, Heathcliff has a secret room dedicated to Catherine (which turns out to be her old bedroom), and forbids any visitors. He has even scribbled the names "Catherine Earnshaw", "Catherine Linton", and "Catherine Heathcliff" repeatedly on the paint of the bed's ledge. After Lockwood is hurt from the dogs, Heathcliff allows him to spend the night at the Heights, and the guest was given the forbidden room to stay in even without Heathcliff's consent.

After he hears Lockwood scream from the bedroom, Heathcliff quickly runs into the room. Lockwood tells him of the nightmare he just had with a ghost in it, and the brooding man was disturbed by the name "Catherine" that Lockwood mentions. He immediately bursts into tears, opens up the window and begs the ghost to come back in. The next morning, Heathcliff bullies Cathy before he escorts Lockwood back to the Grange but leaves him halfway there in the snow. Heathcliff goes on with his tormented lifestyle while Lockwood learns about his story from Nelly at the Grange. At one point, Heathcliff even pays his tenant a visit after he falls ill for 4 weeks.

As Lockwood plans to end his tenancy at the Grange some time later, Heathcliff arrives back at the Heights and seeing how much Hareton resembles a lot like his aunt Catherine, he was filled with so much emotional and physical pain just looking at him. He again discusses the rental property with Lockwood, saying he wouldn't exact his due and Lockwood would pay off the rest of the rent later on, and sits down for a meal with everyone else. His tenant leaves for 6 months, and eventually came back to hear the rest of the story.

Final days and Death
In the fall of 1802, Heathcliff still owns both houses, and by now Nelly has moved to the Heights, after one of Heathcliff's servants Zillah had left and Nelly took her place. His two captives, Hareton and Cathy, have fallen in love as she becomes more caring and helpful to him, which disgusts Heathcliff every time he sees them together. One morning, Heathcliff and Cathy gets into an argument about her inheritance and relationship with Hareton. He grabs the girl and is about to hit her until he looks into her eyes and suddenly lets her go, since he sees that Cathy also has a striking resemblance to her late mother and he calms down afterwards. Later that night, as he sees the couple together and knowing how they look very alike to his beloved Catherine, he finally admits to Nelly that he no longer feels like carrying his plan of revenge on them.

Time goes by, and Heathcliff's behavior turns bizarre. He starts being solitary, eats only once per day, and a few days later, spent the entire night wandering around the moors. He also becomes more strange and cheerful, and even notes to Nelly that he stood on the threshold of Hell and he can already see his Heaven. He stops eating and spends even more time alone. One morning, Heathcliff tells Nelly that he sees an apparition, while she didn't see anything.

He murmurs Catherine's name constantly, and refuses a doctor to see him. One evening, he locks himself inside Catherine's bedroom and doesn't come out. At some point during the night or early morning, he opens the window and let the rain pour down on his face as he dies with a smile on his face. Nelly finds his body the following morning.

Heathcliff is interred in the same graveyard as Catherine and Edgar. As Hareton and Cathy plan to marry and end the cycle of revenge, Heathcliff is reunited with his cherished soulmate Catherine and will forever haunt the Yorkshire moors, their favourite place in life.

Personality/Appearance
Heathcliff starts life as a silent, reclusive child when he is adopted by Mr. Earnshaw. He keeps himself distant from most of society because of his unusual appearance and being different from his new family. When he grows up, he becomes more daring and adventurous when he explores and plays in the Yorkshire moors with Catherine. He was also intensely in love with her, and even when she betrays him, he is even more obsessed with her and wants her to still be with him in spirit.

Heathcliff is insane, demented and dark. He goes crazy over Catherine and her ghost, and being possessed by her drives him more restless. His dark, macabre behaviour and appearance is associated with his unknown past. His darkness also makes him depressed and wanting for more affection and love, since he only received that much attention from Mr. Earnshaw and Catherine, but was treated like an outcast in the household and society. Towards the end of his life, Heathcliff's depression turns mild and cheerful, since he knows that he will be with Catherine again and he can finally leave his lonely life behind and be with her in the afterlife. He had took his dark obsession too far when he allegedly dug up her grave and opened her coffin to admire her corpse that wasn't decomposed yet.

After being abused and mistreated by Hindley and wronged by the Linton's, Heathcliff becomes a ruthless and abusive man. He first exhibits this trait after he is released from the attic after being locked up by Hindley, and he vows to take revenge on Hindley and everyone else who had looked down on him. He even hopes that he will extract his revenge before Hindley‘s death. He is among like other characters whose innocence was ruined by abuse and, in addition, they take that trait towards others. Heathcliff is not very kind and friendly to any relatives that are closely related to those who are opposers to him. He is cruel to his wife Isabella as his vengeance to the Grange, but he was more crueller to his sickly, weak son Linton. He does not care about his frail condition or offer any support that would help him, but makes him take part in his vengeance plan and would have brutally punished him if he doesn't do it.

Although he barely received an education as a child, Heathcliff is very intelligent and rational. When he comes up with his plans of revenge, he knows exactly what he would do and plans it ahead well. For example, after he runs away from the Heights, he may had found his own way to find his wealth and become a well-dressed, proper gentleman. He had spent the past 3 years improving his lifestyle and returning to Yorkshire with confidence. Another of Heathcliff's clever justice plans was lending large amounts of money to Hindley to intensely gamble over until he went broke, pretending to return his love towards Isabella, and bribing the priest to have his final resting place arranged next to Catherine's. He always made sure his goals would be a success, and in the process, his intelligence ruined the lives of everyone who had opposed him.

Heathcliff is always well-known as being a Gypsy. In the novel, he is often described as dark-skinned and having dirty, dark hair. He also spoke a foreign language when Mr. Earnshaw founded him in Liverpool, and he may had belonged to a different race associated with the Gypsies. In England, mainly around the 16th to the 19th century, Gypsies were hated by the British and were executed simply because of their different ethnicity. This may be the reason why Heathcliff was overlooked as he could be part of the hated race. It's also worth noting that Mr. Earnshaw never legally adopts Heathcliff, but rather took him in as a foster child raised among his children. The Earnshaw's may have known better that a Gypsy child like Heathcliff doesn't deserve to have a legal surname.

He originally wore plain, simple clothes while growing up at Wuthering Heights and his hair was messy and filthy. He had been treated as an illiterate servant and he only wore the plainest outfits to wear. But when he returns to the Heights 3 years later, he wears a proper gentleman outfit and was more clean and polished. He had two different styles based on his social class; his simply filthy outfit when he was in his lower social status servant years, and his well-polished gentleman style when he becomes wealthy and powerful.

Relationships
Catherine Earnshaw- Heathcliff's love interest and soulmate. She was also his foster sister as they grew up together after being taken in by Catherine's father Mr. Earnshaw. As adults, both Catherine and Heathcliff were an intense, inseparable romantic couple, who often sought their happiness and freedom by running around the Yorkshire Moors where their home Wuthering Heights is located. But after Catherine falls in love and marries Edgar, Heathcliff is devastated and outraged that his only love would betray him and their relationship starts to dwindle. After Catherine's death, Heathcliff is so tormented of her that he pleads for her spirit to haunt him, which causes him to go insane but obsessed. Out of all the few people he had been close to, Catherine may possibly be the only person he ever truly loved.

Isabella Linton- Heathcliff's wife. Despite being in love with Catherine, he starts to have a romantic liking with Isabella and even flirts with her. But in actuality, Heathcliff never loved Isabella like he was to Catherine, and he pretended to be in love with her so he can take revenge on the Linton's and Thrushcross Grange. The couple secretly elope, but Heathcliff takes out his hatred and abuse on Isabella, even blaming her for causing Catherine's illness in Edgar’s place. His wife eventually leaves him, flees to London and never sees her again.

Linton Heathcliff. Heathcliff's son. After finding out he has a child by his wife arriving at Yorkshire, Heathcliff arranges to have Linton into his custody and brought to the Heights. But he was far from being a loving, devoted father to his son. He is cruel to him, annoyed by Linton's whiny, bratty attitude and doesn't even care for him since he was sickly and weak. In order to accomplish his goal to achieve the Grange for himself, he forces Linton to court Edgar's daughter Cathy and have him marry her. The plan works, but Linton becomes sicker and dies sometime later and Heathcliff never shows any grief or remorse of his son's death.

Hindley Earnshaw- Heathcliff's foster brother and enemy. After being adopted into the family, Heathcliff was not loved by Hindley, who was jealous of him being more affectionate by his father. Heathcliff also despises him as well, as they sometimes fight over some gifts they had received, such as a horse for each of them. After Mr. Earnshaw passes away, Heathcliff was made into a servant by Hindley, the new master of the Heights, and receives more brutal treatment from him. Heathcliff intervenes of his enemy's abuse by swindling him of his gambling and finally gaining ownership to the Heights as his act of revenge towards Hindley.

Hareton Earnshaw- Heathcliff's nephew and servant. He took the boy in after the death of Hindley, Hareton's father, and treats him as his own. He cuts off his education and forbids him from leaving the Heights; therefore making Hareton his illiterate but devoted servant. He also trained Hareton to be cruel like him and to turn against others. He later feels emotional when he looks at his servant since he resembles like his late aunt Catherine.

Cathy Linton- Heathcliff's niece and servant. He wants her to marry his son Linton and claim inheritance at Thrushcross Grange. He made sure she shared a correspondence with Linton and his plan would work, but in addition, he is also unkind and ruthless towards her after she moves into the Heights. Like Hareton, Heathcliff later felt emotional when he saw that Cathy reminds him a lot like her deceased mother Catherine.

Nelly Dean- A servant who grew up with Heathcliff and seen most of his actions in her point of view. Heathcliff can be harsh with her, mostly when he wants something from her. He threatened to hold her hostage when she refused to take him to the Grange to see Catherine and locks her up along with Cathy at the Heights. Towards the end of his life, however, Heathcliff rants to Nelly about seeing Heaven and Catherine's spirit.

Appearances in film/TV
In the 2009 TV miniseries, Heathcliff is portrayed by Declan Wheeldon as a child and Tom Hardy as an adult.