Linton Heathcliff

"A pale, delicate, effeminate boy, who might have been taken for my master's younger brother, so strong was the resemblance: but there was a sickly peevishness in his aspect that Edgar Linton never had."

- Chapter 19

Linton Heathcliff is a major character from Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. He is the son of Heathcliff and Isabella Linton and the cousin of Hareton Earnshaw and Cathy Linton.

He was abused by his father and meant to be a tool in Heathcliff's plan of revenge in order for him to claim both houses. His miserable existence and mistreatment takes a serious toll on his frail health.

Description
Linton Heathcliff was conceived during a difficult and troublesome relationship between his parents Heathcliff and Isabella Linton. Even before he was brought into the world, he may have been blissfully unaware of just how cruel and hateful his life would be and to those related to him. To some readers, Linton may be considered to be very unlikable due to his irritating and annoying nature. But he is just an unfortunate human being who life was cut short due to illness, or in most cases, a broken heart.

During the first few years, Linton's life was simple and it would have stayed that way had his mother lived longer and had never been taken to Wuthering Heights. But rather than being a family member, he was used more of a planning device and when he fails to do his task, he was punished for it. He is essentially tortured to death from being manipulated to give his father what he wants. In addition, Linton was also among the children in the novel who lost their mothers at a young age and forced to struggle on their own. He lost his mother when he was barely 13 years old and he tragically lived and died without his mother's love and care, and instead was brutalized by a hostile, demented father.

Arrival at Yorkshire/Wuthering Heights
Linton Heathcliff was born in London, England to Isabella Linton in the late spring of 1784. His father, Mr. Heathcliff was living in Yorkshire where his mother had left him following their abusive marriage. Linton and his mother spent the next 13 years together in London until she became ill and died. Not much is known about Linton's early years with his mother, although it appears that they had an idyllic life together and was pampered by her. After her death, Linton was retrieved by his uncle Edgar Linton and brought back to Thrushcross Grange in Yorkshire.

Upon arriving at the Grange, Linton meets his cousin Cathy Linton but refuses to come out of the coach. After he goes into the house, he reclines on a sofa since he is too delicate to sit on a chair as Cathy babies him by kissing his forehead and stroking his hair. Later that evening, the Heights servant Joseph arrives and asks that his employer Heathcliff wants custody of his son. Edgar promises to bring his nephew over to Wuthering Heights tomorrow.

The next morning, Linton was woken up early by Nelly and escorted by her to the Heights. He was sad that he had to leave the Grange and live at the Heights, and was surprised to learn that he had a father, as his mother never talked about him. Nelly and Edgar manage to coax him to get dressed and take him to the Heights. Along the way, Nelly tries to comfort him by telling him that the Heights is a proper place for him to be healthy and his father is a good man.

However, as soon as they arrive and Linton meets his father, Heathcliff insults the boy’s late mother and claims him as his property. He promises to Nelly that he will be kind to his son, and Linton is taken inside and served some milk-porridge by Joseph. Linton refuses to eat it, so he was served some boiled tea instead. He begs Nelly not to leave him with his father, but she departs from the Heights.

Relationship with Cathy Linton
Following his arrival at the Heights, Linton becomes more weak and whiny and Heathcliff cannot stand him. 3 years later, when Linton was around 16 years old, Nelly and Cathy were invited to the Heights by Heathcliff to introduce his son to the pretty young Linton girl. He doesn't recognize her when they meet again after a few years and he had grown more taller than her. He is so weak and sickly that he is unable to show her around the house, so his cousin Hareton does it instead and Heathcliff demands him to go after them.

Shortly afterwards, Linton and Cathy start secretly contacting with each other through letters. But after her letters were destroyed by Nelly, Linton's correspondence with her ends. By the mid fall, he becomes more depressed, and Heathcliff convinces Cathy to go see him while he is away since he could be dying of a broken heart. One rainy morning, he begs in his whiny voice to Joseph to put more coals into the fire. When Cathy arrives, he tells her not to kiss him as it would take his breath away. He says that he is tired of writing to her and hates the servants for not caring for him.

He brings up to her the possibility of marriage so he would have her take care of him. He comments that wives love their husbands, but when Cathy tells him that Isabella never loved Heathcliff, he gets angry and the two of them argue about their fathers. His chair was shoved by Cathy and he falls to the floor. He starts having a coughing and choking fit, and says to her that she has assaulted him and had already damaged his fragile health, just to make her feel bad. He never accepts her apology. As Cathy prepares to leave, he writhes on the floor so he had to be propped up with pillows by her and reciting poetry. He asks her to come and nurse him back to health, and every night after Cathy cares for her sick father and Nelly, she would arrive at the Heights and Linton would be treated by her.

A few weeks go by, and during that time, Linton saw Cathy more frequently. One time, they argued how they would spend a summer afternoon, and they make up by playing ball outside. He gets upset of losing and had to be consoled. But the next time she came over, Hareton interrupts the visit by pushing Linton to the floor and shoves him and Cathy into the kitchen. Linton experiences a temper tantrum and threatens to kill Hareton, coughs up blood and faints. Hareton carries him upstairs, and 3 days later, Linton blames Cathy for the humiliation forced on him. 2 days after that, Linton is told by Cathy that she will not see him again and he begs for forgiveness.

Marriage to Cathy/Death
Following Cathy's final visit, Linton is now on his own in the Heights with his father and servants, and is too weak to walk towards the Grange just to see his cousin. His health starts to fail, and Cathy comes back to see him, this time accompanied by Nelly. He was found just outside of the Heights when the pair find him, and they were surprised at how weaker he is. But he insists that he is getting better and wants to have it kept a secret from his father so he won't be mad at him. During the visit, he gets very anxious and kept on glancing over his shoulder back at the Heights. He tells Cathy to meet him again next Thursday at the same spot and falls asleep while Cathy looks for some berries to give to him. He suddenly wakes up after he thought he heard his father calling his name, and he clings to Cathy as she prepares to leave. She promises to be back next Thursday and she and Nelly ride away, while Linton was left alone as his father approaches him.

A week later, Linton awaits for Cathy's arrival. When she comes, he is angry at her for being late and attending to her dying father. She wants to know why he was pretending to like her, and Linton breaks down in tears, unable to tell her what is making him feel terrified and would surely be killed if she rejects him. She asks him what is wrong, and Linton said that his father had threatened him but wouldn't tell her why. Heathcliff appears and lures the women back to the Heights, while Linton goes with him. The women are then held hostage under Heathcliff, and Linton says his father won't let them go until he marries Cathy, since his failing health is a sign that he may die before Edgar.

5 days later, Nelly goes searching for Cathy and Linton is sitting by the hearth sucking on a piece of candy. He tells her that Cathy is still in her bedroom and she is now his wife. He owns her whole inheritance and would not let Nelly leave. He also said that she gave him all of her things to bribe him to let her escape back to the Grange. He was even given him her locket but he says he was his now and rips it from her neck. He then watched gleefully as his father came and smashed the locket and hit Cathy across the mouth, but felt bad when he saw her bleed. He refuses to tell Nelly where the key to Cathy's room is, and is scolded by her for being selfish and heartless, as well as being reminded of his wife's kindness to him. But he eventually helps Cathy leave the Heights to be by her father's deathbed at the Grange, and was later punished by Heathcliff for helping her escape.

After his wife's return, Linton's health worsens until he is close to death. Cathy is tasked by Heathcliff to look after him, and one night while he was being nursed by her, Linton dies.

Personalities/Appearance
Linton was born a sickly and peevish child. He grew up with his frail condition although he was pampered and deeply loved by his mother Isabella. Even as he was taken to Yorkshire by his uncle, Linton's health does not improve. Several times throughout the novel, he has coughing fits but anyone hardly helps him. He had even coughed up blood after he was being harassed and beaten by Hareton, which nearly had a fatal effect on him due to his health. The only person who would properly nurse and care for him was Cathy Linton, since she knew that she had to make sure he was given the right treatment for him to live longer and that her loving care for him nearly made him recover. He often talks in a very weak and whiny voice and nobody, not even Heathcliff, can stand his constant demands. He is even delicate and sensitive when he is being mistreated physically and emotionally. He thinks that the more he is abused and hurt, the more it damages his fragile condition. Linton is fearful of Heathcliff and his demands, fearing what his father would do to him if he doesn't do what he is told. As a result, Linton constantly obeys his commands into courting and marrying Cathy.

While he is charming and handsome-looking, Linton is a cruel and unkind boy. His father's dominance on him may had an effect on his behaviour like most abused children. He pressures Cathy into looking after him while being forced by Heathcliff, but can be mean to her. For example, when she gives him some of her things to bribe him to help her escape, Linton ended up tearing Cathy's locket from her neck and looks on happily as Heathcliff smashed it and hits Cathy. He is also very selfish as he cares only about his health, wanting Cathy to nurse him and doesn't tell Nelly where the key to Cathy's room is.

Linton is often described as being thin and pail, with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. His appearance may have resembled that of Isabella's.

Relationships
Heathcliff- Linton's father. After losing his mother, Linton was sent to live with his father after arriving in Yorkshire. At first assured by Nelly that Heathcliff is a good and kind man, Linton instantly becomes afraid of him once he is taken into Heathcliff's home. He was abused and mistreated by him into having his father gaining inheritance of Thrushcross Grange. Scared of what Heathcliff might do to him if he disobeys, he always does exactly as he is told forcefully by him.

Isabella Linton- Linton's mother. Not much is known about their relationship, although Linton must have been very close and loved by her while they lived together in London.

Cathy Linton- Linton's cousin and his wife. After being manipulated by his father to love her, Linton corresponds with Cathy through letters and has her look after him while she is at Wuthering Heights. But he can also be cruel towards her and comes up with different ways such as writhing on the floor to make her more sympathetic and caring for him. After he marries her, his health fails and dies.

Hareton Earnshaw- Linton's cousin. He is often treated unfairly by Hareton and is a victim to his aggressiveness. One time, Linton was pushed and shoved by Hareton while he was in a bad mood, as well as being one of the servants who cannot stand Linton's weak and whiny demands.

Appearances in Film/TV

 * In the 1978 BBC Two miniseries, Linton is portrayed by Andrew Burleigh.
 * In the 1992 film adaptation, Linton is portrayed by Jonathan Firth.
 * In the 1998 ITV TV film, Linton is portrayed by William Mannering.
 * In the 2009 Masterpiece Theatre TV film, Linton is portrayed by Tom Payne.