Wuthering Heights: Character Profiles

Heathcliff: A self-destructive character, Heathcliff is driven by his obsessive love for Catherine and his desire for revenge, resulting in a life marked by cruelty and a lack of morality.
Cathy: Passionate, wild, and impulsive, Cathy is torn between her love for Heathcliff and her desire for social elevation through her marriage to Edgar Linton.
Edgar Linton: Representing civility and refinement, Edgar Linton is the wealthy, loving, but somewhat weak husband of Catherine.
Nelly Dean: The voice of moral authority in the novel, Nelly Dean serves as both servant and confidante to multiple generations.
Lockwood: As the novel’s primary narrator, Lockwood’s outsider perspective allows us to gradually unfurl the narrative of Wuthering Heights.
Young Catherine: Reflecting characteristics of both her parents, Young Catherine evolves from a bright, headstrong girl into a compassionate woman.
Hareton Earnshaw: Initially brutish and uneducated thanks to Heathcliff’s revenge, Hareton eventually transforms to reveal gentleness and intelligence.
Linton Heathcliff: A physically weak and increasingly embittered character, Linton Heathcliff represents the worst aspects of both parents.
Hindley Earnshaw: His intense jealously shapes his relationship with Heathcliff and his descent into alcoholism and degradation.
Isabella Linton: Her naive infatuation with Heathcliff leads to a disastrous marriage and a difficult life.
Mrs. Earnshaw: Though she dies early in the book, her preference for Hindley over Heathcliff starts the cycles of favouritism and revenge.
Joseph: Joseph provides constant harsh moral judgement and tediously rigid religious beliefs.
Frances Earnshaw: Frances’s brief marriage to Hindley sees her bring a softness to Wuthering Heights before her early death from tuberculosis.
Mr. Linton: As the father of Edgar and Isabella, he represents respectability and harsh patriarchal order.
Mrs. Linton: Her attempt to civilise Heathcliff highlights the class struggle that’s a predominant theme in the novel.
Zillah: Working as a housekeeper at Wuthering Heights, her obedience to Heathcliff highlights his controlling nature.
Mr. Green : Human embodiment of Heathcliff’s vengeance, he manipulates to disinherit Young Catherine.