Wuthering Heights, Chapter 23 summary

What happens

1. Catherine and Ellen find Linton cold, ill, and angry at the household’s neglect while his father is away.
2. Discussion of marriage becomes a quarrel about their parents, and Catherine pushes Linton’s chair, provoking a frightening coughing fit.
3. Linton’s complaints and distress keep Catherine beside him until she comforts him with ballads.
4. Catherine defends further visits, while Ellen threatens to tell her father unless he gives permission.
5. Ellen becomes bedridden for three weeks; Catherine nurses her and her father, but Ellen overlooks her unexplained evening flushes.

In this chapter

What to notice

Linton turns Catherine’s guilt into a reason for further visits. His demand joins affection to an obligation to nurse him.

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