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Summary
The narrative is continued by Nelly who is filling Lockwood in, with all that has happened in the eight months he had been away. The friendship between Cathy and Hareton develops swiftly. Nelly is horrified to find Hareton uprooting some of Joseph's black currant trees in order to plant flowers, for she knows this will cause trouble. Joseph complains to Heathcliff and an unpleasant scene follows. Cathy accuses Heathcliff of stealing both her and Hareton's lands and money. Heathcliff furiously seizes her by the hair, but before Hareton can intervene, Heathcliff's anger subsides and looking intently into Cathy's face, he pushes her from him, warning her to keep out of the way.
That afternoon, whilst Heathcliff is out, Cathy and Hareton talk together. Cathy begins to criticize Heathcliff's conduct towards Hindley, but Hareton is not prepared to bear any ill of Heathcliff.
Heathcliff comes in and the two look up at him, both with the eyes of Catherine Earnshaw. He is very disturbed and sends Cathy out of the room, Hareton follows.
Heathcliff then speaks to Nelly. He tells her that though now he has both, Catherine—representative of the Lintons and Hareton—representative of the Earnshaws in his power, he has lost the desire for revenge. He feels that Hareton and Cathy are the only important things in his life. He has difficulty remembering to eat and drink, or even to breathe. Hareton especially disturbs him, for not only does he resemble Catherine Earnshaw startlingly but also personifies Heathcliff's own youth.
Heathcliff sees Catherine everywhere. His only wish is now to be one with his beloved. Nelly feels that his conscience has turned his heart to "an earthly hell".
Critical Analysis
Catherine, now eighteen retains her spirited nature as is seen in her defiance of Heathcliff. It is creditable that Hareton now twenty-three is not prepared to hear ill of Heathcliff inspite of Heathcliff ill-treating him. It reveals the true nobility of Hareton's character.
Heathcliff's talk with Nelly is deeply moving. We become aware of the stifled aspirations of Heathcliff's childhood and the suppressed torment of his adult life. Heathcliff reminds him of his youth; Hareton's love for Cathy has become symbolic in Heathcliff's eyes of his own immortal love for the elder Catherine, his own degradation, his pride, his happiness and his anguish.
Emily Bronte by her powerful poetic language gains the reader's sympathy for Heathcliff.