Writing in his diary in 1801, Lockwood describes his first days as a tenant at Thrushcross Grange, an isolated manor in the desolate English moor country. Shortly after arriving at the Grange, he has paid a visit to his landlord, Mr. Heathcliff, a surly, dark man living in a manor called Wuthering Heights-- "wuthering" being a local adjective used to describe the fierce and wild winds that blow during storms on the moors. During the visit, Heathcliff seems not to trust Lockwood, and leaves him alone in a room with a group of snarling dogs; Lockwood is saved from the hounds by a ruddy-cheeked housekeeper. When Heathcliff returns, Lockwood is angry, but eventually warms toward his taciturn host, and--though he hardly seems welcome in Wuthering Heights--he volunteers to visit again soon.

On a chilly afternoon not long after his first visit, Lockwood plans to lounge before the fire in his study; but he finds a servant kicking up dust in the room and putting out the fire, so instead he makes the four-mile walk to Wuthering Heights, and arrives just as a light snow begins to fall. He knocks, but no one appears to let him in, and Joseph, an old servant who speaks with a thick colloquia

As young Catherine grows up on the grounds of Thrushcross Grange, learning only in fits and spurts about the existence of Wuthering Heights, Edgar Linton searches for a way to prevent Heathcliff from inheriting Thrushcross Grange despite Heathcliffs apparent legal right to it through his marriage to Isabella (which would have taken legal precedence over young Catherine's claim to the property). These events underscore the symbolic importance of the two houses, both in the minds of the characters and to the thematic vision of the novel as a whole. Wuthering Heights, obviously, represents a kind of wildness, ungoverned passion, extremity, and doom--even its name comes from an adjective referring to violent storms, and the behavior of the characters associated with Wuthering Heights, Hindley, Catherine, and Heathcliff, bears out the association. Thrushcross Grange represents restraint, social grace, civility, gentility, and aristocracy--note its domestically picturesque name, and the behavior of the Lintons with whom it is associated.

Nelly has not seen Catherine since she left, and her only source of information about her is Zillah. Zillah says that Heathcliff refused to allow anyone at Wuthering Heights to be kind or helpful to Catherine after her arrival, and that Catherine tended to Linton by herself until the day he died. After Linton's death, Catherine remained aloof from Zillah and from Hareton, with whom she has been in constant conflict. Desperate to help her, Nelly says that she has taken a cottage herself and wanted to bring Catherine to live with her, but she knows that Heathcliff will not allow it. The only thing that could save Catherine would be another marriage, but she does not have the power to bring such a thing about.

Heathcliff returns, and on entering the house, he notices that Hareton has begun to look more and more like his Aunt Catherine; Heathcliff says that he can hardly bear to see him, he looks so like his dead aunt. Lockwood passes a cheerless meal with Heathcliff and Hareton, and then departs Wuthering Heights; as he leaves, he thinks that it is a bleak place full of dreary people, and that it would have been like a fairy tale for young Catherine had she fallen in love with him and left Wuthering Heights for a more genial environment.

In a rage, Edgar declares that Catherine must choose between Heathcliff and himself. Catherine refuses to speak to him, locking herself in a room and refusing to eat. Two days pass in this way, and Edgar warns Isabella that if she pursues Heathcliff, she will be cast out of the Linton family. At last, Catherine permits the servants to bring her food. Hysterical, she believes that she is dying, and cannot understand why Edgar has not come to her. She rants about her childhood with Heathcliff on the moors, and speaks obsessively about death. Nelly, worried that she will catch a chill, refuses to open the window. Catherine manages to stumble to the window and force it open; from the window, she believes that she can see Wuthering Heights. Catherine says that though she will die, her spirit will never be at rest until she can be with Heathcliff. Edgar arrives, and is shocked to find Catherine in such a weak condition; he sends Nelly after a doctor. The doctor declares that Catherine is very ill, and will most likely die.

Hindley and his new wife, a simpering, silly woman named Frances, return to Wuthering Heights in time for Mr. Earnshaw's funeral. Hindley immediately begins to take his revenge on Heathcliff, declaring that Heathcliff will no longer be allowed an education, and instead will spend his days working in the fields like a common laborer. But for the most part, Catherine and Heathcliff are able to skulk below Hindley's notice, and spend the time when Heathcliff is not forced to work playing on the moors and ignoring their religious obligations, much to Joseph's disgust.

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Approximate Word count = 10909
Approximate Pages = 44 (250 words per page double spaced)