Characters
A Multi-Generational Story of Two Families
Wuthering Heights is a multi-generational story of two families—the Earnshaws of Wuthering Heights and the Lintons of Thrushcross Grange.1
In Emily Brontë’s novel, characters are experienced by the reader as continuing energies and presences after their deaths. Stevie Davies, “Visions Rising,” Emily Brontë: The Artist as a Free Woman (1983)
As readers, we’re fortunate to be provided a manageable list of characters (many of whom are economically christened by Brontë with a single name—a forename (e.g. Joseph) or surname (e.g. Lockwood).
Unfortunately, two Catherines, a number of marriages and the reuse of surnames as forenames can prove to be a bit confusing.
A few of the female characters reside at both the Heights and the Grange during the span of the story.
And, the novel begins in Autumn of 1801 and ends in Autumn of 1802, yet as readers we ramble through two previous decades;
and guided by a handful of reliable and unreliable narrators, our story unfolds.
The Earnshaws
Mr. Earnshaw ● Mrs. Earnshaw ● Hindley Earnshaw ● Catherine Earnshaw
The Lintons
Mr. Linton ● Mrs. Linton ● Edgar Linton ● Isabella Linton
Others & Outliers
Heathcliff ● Frances ● Lockwood ● Linton
Joseph ● Zillah ● Ellen “Nelly” Dean ● Robert ● John ● Jenny ● Michael
Shielders ● Kenneth ● Dame Archer ● Green
The Animals
Juno ● Gnasher ● Wolf ● Skulker ● Throttler ● Fanny ● Minny ● Charlie ● Phoenix
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The Family Tree image is adapted from an image in the Reader’s Digest edition of Wuthering Heights (1982). It illustrates the still widely-accepted A. Stuart Daley chronology (published in the 1970s as, “A Chronology of Wuthering Heights.”).