Key Quotes in Wuthering Heights

This selection of key quotes from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights provides crucial insights for your Leaving Certificate English examination. Each quote offers a window into the novel’s complex themes, character motivations, and literary artistry.

Understanding these passages will significantly enhance your analytical essays. Focus on how each quote reveals character, develops theme, or employs specific literary devices.

Catherine Earnshaw’s Enduring Love

Quote 1

• Quote: “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary.”
• Speaker and Context: Catherine Earnshaw, speaking to Nelly Dean in Chapter 9, explaining her decision to marry Edgar Linton despite her deep connection to Heathcliff.
• Analysis: This quote uses a powerful simile to differentiate Catherine’s two loves. Her love for Linton is superficial and transient, like “foliage.” In contrast, her love for Heathcliff is fundamental and unchangeable, like the “eternal rocks.” This foreshadows the destructive nature of her choice. It highlights the novel’s central conflict between societal expectations and passionate, elemental love.
• Exam Application: Use this quote to discuss Catherine’s internal conflict, the themes of love and nature, or the societal pressures influencing her decisions. It is excellent for exploring character motivation and the tragic trajectory of her relationship with Heathcliff.

Quote 2

• Quote: “I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”
• Speaker and Context: Catherine Earnshaw, again to Nelly Dean in Chapter 9, further elaborating on her inseparable bond with Heathcliff.
• Analysis: This famous declaration reveals the metaphysical nature of Catherine and Heathcliff’s connection. The metaphor “I am Heathcliff!” suggests a spiritual unity, transcending conventional love. It implies that Heathcliff is not merely a lover but an essential part of her identity. This concept is crucial to understanding the novel’s general vision and viewpoint on transcendent love and identity.
• Exam Application: This quote is pivotal for discussing themes of identity, transcendent love, and the supernatural elements within their relationship. It can support arguments about their shared soul or the destructive consequences of their separation.

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Heathcliff’s Obsessive Vengeance

Quote 3

• Quote: “It was a just punishment for my sin in having murdered her by staying away.”
• Speaker and Context: Heathcliff, lamenting Catherine’s death in Chapter 16, blaming himself for leaving Wuthering Heights years earlier.
• Analysis: Heathcliff’s self-reproach here highlights his profound guilt and the depth of his love for Catherine. He views their separation as a direct cause of her demise, revealing his distorted sense of responsibility. This quote underscores his obsessive nature and sets the stage for his subsequent vengeful actions. His emotional intensity is palpable.
• Exam Application: Use this quote to analyse Heathcliff’s character development, particularly his capacity for self-blame and the origins of his destructive behaviour. It connects to themes of guilt, responsibility, and the consequences of passionate love.

Quote 4

• Quote: “I have no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn’t have thought of it.”
• Speaker and Context: Catherine Earnshaw, again to Nelly Dean in Chapter 9, expressing her conflicted feelings about marrying Edgar and blaming Hindley for Heathcliff’s degradation.
• Analysis: This quote reveals Catherine’s internal turmoil and her belief in a preordained connection with Heathcliff. Her hyperbolic statement about heaven emphasises the unnaturalness of marrying Edgar. It also points to the societal and class barriers, exacerbated by Hindley’s cruelty, that prevent her from marrying Heathcliff. This highlights the novel’s critical stance on social stratification.
• Exam Application: This quote is excellent for discussing social class as a barrier to love, Catherine’s character, and the novel’s general vision and viewpoint on societal constraints. It demonstrates the profound impact of external forces on personal relationships.

The Destructive Cycle of Revenge

Quote 5

• Quote: “My love for Catherine is stronger than yours. I will not be pacified by prayers or tears. I will be pacified by nothing but her return.”
• Speaker and Context: Heathcliff, confronting Edgar Linton after Catherine’s death in Chapter 16, asserting his superior claim to her love.
• Analysis: This quote exemplifies Heathcliff’s possessiveness and inability to accept loss. His declaration of enduring love, even beyond death, fuels his subsequent actions of revenge against those he perceives as having wronged him and Catherine. The refusal to be “pacified” highlights his unyielding and unforgiving nature, central to his character.
• Exam Application: This quote is useful for analysing Heathcliff’s obsessive love, his capacity for cruelty, and the themes of vengeance and destructive passion. It shows the intensity of his feelings, which drive much of the novel’s plot.

Quote 6

• Quote: “He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”
• Speaker and Context: Catherine Earnshaw, to Nelly Dean in Chapter 9, explaining her profound spiritual connection to Heathcliff.
• Analysis: This quote is a powerful statement about spiritual unity, echoing the earlier “I am Heathcliff” sentiment. It underscores the Romantic idea of soulmates and a love that transcends physical or social boundaries. The metaphor of shared soul substance reinforces their elemental bond, setting them apart from ordinary relationships. This is key to understanding the novel’s tragic core.
• Exam Application: Use this quote to discuss the theme of transcendent love, the nature of Catherine and Heathcliff’s bond, and the novel’s exploration of identity. It’s crucial for arguments about their destined, yet doomed, connection.

Nature and Environment

Quote 7

• Quote: “Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff’s dwelling. ‘Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather.”
• Speaker and Context: Lockwood, the narrator, in Chapter 1, describing his first impressions of the house and its name.
• Analysis: This opening description immediately establishes the novel’s atmosphere and foreshadows the wild, untamed nature of its inhabitants and events. The word “wuthering” itself uses pathetic fallacy, linking the physical environment to the emotional turbulence within. It sets the tone for a story deeply intertwined with its landscape.
• Exam Application: Use this quote to discuss setting, atmosphere, and the novel’s use of pathetic fallacy. It helps illustrate how the environment reflects and shapes character and plot, contributing to the novel’s general vision and viewpoint.

Quote 8

• Quote: “I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas: they’ve gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind.”
• Speaker and Context: Catherine Earnshaw, to Nelly Dean in Chapter 9, recalling a significant dream that influenced her perspective.
• Analysis: This quote highlights Catherine’s imaginative and passionate nature. The simile “like wine through water” vividly conveys the transformative power of her subconscious. It suggests a deep, intuitive understanding of her own desires, often at odds with societal expectations. This shows her struggle with her true self.
• Exam Application: This quote can be used to explore Catherine’s character, the theme of dreams versus reality, and the psychological depth of the novel. It demonstrates how internal experiences profoundly shape identity and choices.

Social Class and Status

Quote 9

• Quote: “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am.”
• Speaker and Context: Catherine Earnshaw, to Nelly Dean in Chapter 9, explaining her decision to marry Edgar Linton.
• Analysis: This quote powerfully illustrates the conflict between social status and genuine affection. Catherine acknowledges the societal degradation she would face by marrying Heathcliff, who is perceived as beneath her. This reveals the pervasive influence of class distinctions in the novel and Catherine’s tragic choice to betray her true self for social standing.
• Exam Application: This quote is crucial for discussing themes of social class, love versus societal pressure, and Catherine’s fatal flaw. It underscores the novel’s critique of rigid social hierarchies and their destructive impact on individuals.

Quote 10

• Quote: “I wish I were a lady, and then I shouldn’t care for anything.”
• Speaker and Context: Isabella Linton, expressing her romanticised view of life at Wuthering Heights in Chapter 10, before she truly understands Heathcliff’s nature.
• Analysis: Isabella’s naive wish highlights her sheltered upbringing and her misunderstanding of love and social status. She idealises a life free from responsibility, believing that being a “lady” would solve all problems. This quote serves as dramatic irony, as her subsequent marriage to Heathcliff brings her immense suffering, rather than carefree bliss.
• Exam Application: Use this quote to discuss Isabella’s character, the theme of illusion versus reality, and the dangers of romanticising situations. It can also touch on the societal expectations placed on women during the period.

Redemption and Hope

Quote 11

• Quote: “I’ve done no harm. I don’t mean to do any. I only want to live in peace. I will not be bullied by you, Mr. Heathcliff.”
• Speaker and Context: Young Cathy Linton, confronting Heathcliff in Chapter 27, asserting her independence and desire for peace.
• Analysis: This quote marks a turning point, as young Cathy represents a new generation that resists Heathcliff’s tyranny. Her declaration of wanting “to live in peace” and her refusal to be “bullied” signify a break from the cycle of revenge. This foreshadows a more hopeful future, suggesting the possibility of redemption and healing.
• Exam Application: This quote is excellent for discussing themes of hope, generational change, and the potential for breaking cycles of abuse. It highlights young Cathy’s resilience and her role in bringing about a more positive resolution to the novel.

Quote 12

• Quote: “The entire world is a dreadful collection of sinners. I can’t understand why God allows them to remain.”
• Speaker and Context: Joseph, the devoutly religious servant, frequently muttering his condemnations throughout the novel, often in Chapter 3.
• Analysis: Joseph’s rigid, judgmental perspective provides a stark contrast to the passionate, often sinful, actions of the main characters. His extreme Calvinist views highlight the moral strictures of the time and offer a critical lens on the characters’ behaviour. His constant pronouncements create a sense of impending doom and moral judgment.
• Exam Application: Use this quote to discuss the theme of religion and morality in the novel, Joseph’s characterisation, or to contrast his worldview with the more pagan, elemental worldview of Heathcliff and Catherine. It can also illustrate religious hypocrisy.

Related Pages

• Wuthering Heights Study Guide
• Wuthering Heights Summary
• Themes in Wuthering Heights
• Key Moments in Wuthering Heights