Summary and Analysis
Chapter 27
Summary
During the week that follows, Edgar's health continues to deteriorate, so it is grudgingly that Cathy rides to meet Linton. During the visit, Heathcliff arrives and demands to know if Edgar is truly dying. Heathcliff is worried that Linton might die before Edgar does.
Heathcliff asks Cathy to walk her cousin back to Wuthering Heights. Although she meekly reminds Heathcliff that she is forbidden from visiting the farmhouse, Cathy disobeys her father's instructions. Linton's cries of anguish and Heathcliff's rage, which is directed toward Linton, however, convince both Cathy and Nelly to accompany them.
After they're inside, Heathcliff imprisons Cathy and Nelly; he will not release her until after she and Linton are married. Overnight, Heathcliff locks Cathy in a bedroom. In the morning he frees Cathy from the room, but Nelly is held prisoner for five days, only seeing Hareton, who serves as her jailer.
Analysis
Linton is extremely pathetic and obviously terrified of Heathcliff; however, the manner in which he speaks to Cathy after she is lured to Wuthering Heights mitigates any sympathy readers may be feeling for him.
After Cathy is locked inside, Linton reveals to her Heathcliff's plans, and a sense of inescapable doom exists. This kidnapping, the first time Heathcliff does something entirely outside the limits of the law, is an act of desperation on his behalf; Linton needs to marry Cathy before Edgar's death, and Edgar needs to die before Linton does in order for Heathcliff to solidify his claim on Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff's actions clearly illustrate the philosophy that "the ends justify the means." In doing so, readers tend to root for Cathy to be able to somehow thwart Heathcliff's growing power. Nelly does not witness the wedding, but Cathy and Linton do indeed get married.
Glossary
enigmatical perplexing or baffling.
magnamity the ability to rise above pettiness or meanness.
ling heather.
vivisection medical research consisting of surgical operations or other experiments performed on living animals to study the structure and function of living organs and parts.
cockatrice deadly serpent in myth or the Bible.