History Characters / WutheringHeights

* ShallowCannotComprehendTrueLove: The passive, slightly classist Nelly reacts to the love-fueled insanity unfolding around her with bemusement as to why someone would choose passion over stability.

* {{Sadist}}: Oh, [[SarcasmMode only a little bit...]]

** “He’s not a rough diamond - a pearl-containing oyster of a rustic: he’s a fierce, pitiless, wolfish man.”

%%* {{Jerkass}}: His treatment of Heathcliff is largely what [[StartOfDarkness shapes]] the latter into the cruel and bitter person of the second half of the novel.

* JerkassHasAPoint: While her reasons for doing so are hardly altruistic, she isn’t the least bit wrong when she points out to [[TheIngenue Isabelle]] what a profoundly ''bad'' idea it is to pursue a relationship with someone as unstable as [[BastardBoyfriend Heathcliff]]!

[[folder:Heathcliff]]

* AmbiguouslyHuman: See ChangelingTale below. Isabella's letter to Nelly perfectly encapsulates this sentiment: "Is Mr Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? If not, is he a devil?"
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Heathcliff's race is never clear; he is referred to as "dark" and a "gipsy." He might be literally {{UsefulNotes/Romani}}, but it could equally be that people just don't know what else to call him. At one point Nelly fancifully speculates that he could be the son of the Emperor of China and an Indian queen. Mr Earnshaw returned with Heathcliff after a trip to {{UsefulNotes/Liverpool}}, which at the time (the 1760s) was a huge port city and the slave-trading capital of Britain. While Heathcliff's not, in Nelly's words, "a regular black", he might be black-biracial. The idea that he's some sort of biracial is also aided by the popular theory that he's actually Mr Earnshaw's bastard son. Heathcliff simultaneously dips into tropes like RoguishRomani, ScaryBlackMan, and MixedAncestryIsAttractive.

* ChangelingTale: The story toys from time to time with whether or not Heathcliff is a supernatural being, a possibility supported by the fact that he is named after an Earnshaw son who died before the start of the story. Heathcliff's mysterious origins, tendency to cause mischief, and the fact that he's a replacement for a deceased child draws a lot of parallels to traditional changeling folklore.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Cathy, which may or may not be a case of SurpriseIncest. It's safe to say that in either case said love is unhealthily passionate and [[DarkerAndEdgier lacks the heartwarming side usually provided by a childhood romance]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: He lost his mother at a young age under some unclear circumstances, then was bullied by his adoptive brother (and later legal guardian) Hindley for most of his childhood. Later in his life, he makes a point of proving that anyone in his shoes would turn out as bad as he. [[spoiler:And it spectacularly fails]].

* DeathByDespair: According to Nellie Dean, [[spoiler:he basically lost interest in life and wanted to join Cathy as soon as possible]].

* EvilGloating: He occasionally does this to Nellie, gloating about how well is revenge is going and knowing there's nothing she can do.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Through a combination of forced marriages, alcohol and bribery, Heathcliff becomes the master of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange despite not being a blood member of the Earnshaw or Linton families.

* ManipulativeBastard: He easily exploits Hindley's alcoholism, Isabella's infatuation for him and Catherine (II)'s ingenuity to make his elaborate plan of revenge on the Earnshaws and the Lintons.

* MysteriousPast: For all of Heathcliff's life that we do know, he's still made of this trope. We don't know anything about his early years, to age seven or so, or why he couldn't speak English when he first came to the Heights or what his name might have been before that time. The mystery only deepens in the three years he spends away from the Heights and somehow has made himself so rich in that time that he's bought the house from under Hindley's nose.

* ParentalSubstitute: Weirdly enough, he's one for Hareton. He has basically robbed him of his inheritance but [[StockholmSyndrome Hareton looks at him as a father figure]], since he's the only one he ever had.

* ReplacementGoldfish: A possible interpretation as to why Mr Earnshaw decided to adopt Heathcliff. When asked what name the boy should be given, he settles on Heathcliff. Mrs Earnshaw remarks that Heathcliff is the name of a son of theirs who died before the start of the story.

* TallDarkAndSnarky: As he grows up he gets TallDarkAndHandsome but with a dry humor and sharp tongue.

* VillainProtagonist: His life ambition is to wreak vengeance on all who have (in his opinion) stood between him and his would-be lover Catherine Earnshaw. He achieves this by mentally and physically abusing them, and embezzling their property. He extends his revenge [[SinsOfOurFathers to the children of his enemies]].
* WhosYourDaddy: Nobody knows who actually were his parents. [[spoiler:Some fans think he may have been Mr. Earnshaw's illegitimate son.]]

[[folder:Cathy]]

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Her famous "I ''am'' Heathcliff!" speech to Nellie Dean. [[spoiler:Too bad Heathcliff leaves before he can hear it.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Well, since Heathcliff is the only one she has any deep-seated interest for and she basically says she is him (and probably wants to identify entirely with him; see below), she may be a literal example. She is initially as abusive as her brother is towards Heathcliff, then manipulates Linton, doesn't care about the health of her brother, her sister-in-law, or poor Nelly, to whom she is very much a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk.
* JerkAss: Her selfish desire to try and have everything destroys two families across several generations. Worse, she knows what both what Heathcliff is capable of and what her actions are bringing about, but refuses to change.
* TheLostLenore: To both Edgar and Heathcliff. Obviously Heathcliff is the one who handles her loss [[LoveMakesYouEvil far less well]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Her desire to have her cake and eat it (marrying Edgar for money and status while keeping Heathcliff on the side) ultimately leads to [[spoiler:her own death]] and Heathcliff's descent into madness and need for revenge.

[[folder:Hindley]]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:If you subscribe to the theory that Hindley is murdered by Heathcliff]].

* DramaticIrony: [[spoiler:Heathcliff's later treatment of his son Hareton mirrors the way Hindley himself treats Heathcliff when his father dies and he inherits the estate]].
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Hindley's death occurs off-page but is assumed to be a result of his drunkenness. Only [[spoiler:Heathcliff]] is said to be with him when he dies and it is implied that he gambles away ownership of Wuthering Heights to the latter during this period. Whether or not [[spoiler: Heathcliff]] had any hand in his death is ambiguous.
* DrowningMySorrows: After his wife's death in childbirth. Its also strongly implied that [[spoiler:Heathcliff]] encourages this.

%%* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:For some readers, the manner of his death]].

[[folder:Edgar]]

* MySisterIsOffLimits: With good reasons, actually. He knows very well how Heathcliff is a terrible match for his sister, but sadly she won't listen and ''boy'' does she pay.

** It also leads to him not explaining what exactly Heathcliff has done to Cathy II (he can't bring himself to). As a result she can't put herself on guard against him until it's much too late. And even when he does try to explain his history with Heathcliff, he finds himself unable to explain it in detail.
* OnlySaneMan: The only character who isn't a dick, or an alcoholic or abusive, the one who sees through Heathcliff's plotting. He's sadly not sane enough to actively prevent most of the madness that ensues.
* TheRival: To Heathcliff. It borders on {{Archenemy}} as the second part of the novel revolves around Heathcliff's plotting for Edgar's downfall, but Heathcliff never openly risks to confront him and waits for his death to take possession of his home.
* RomanticFalseLead: Catherine marries him, even though her passion is for Heathcliff.

[[folder:Isabella]]

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Deconstructed. She wants Heathcliff at first, but lives to thoroughly regret it.

* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Her brother was damn right, although unfortunately he decides to disown her for her elopement.

* FallenPrincess: She was the princess of her house, until she had the bad idea of marrying Heathcliff against her family's will. She ended disowned by her brother and trapped in an abusive marriage.

* InnocentBlueEyes: That match her pampered and naïve personality.

* RevengeByProxy: Is on the receiving end of this courtesy of Heathcliff. He outright admits that he manipulated her into the marriage by playing nice guy so that he could make her his personal chew toy until her brother suffers his wrath. DomesticAbuse and (undoubtedbly) MaritalRapeLicense ensues until she books it.
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Between Cathy (I) and Hindley's deaths.
* SmittenTeenageGirl: She projects her PrinceCharming revery on resident bad boy Heathcliff.

[[folder:Nelly]]

* ParentalSubstitute: To Catherine (both of them, but especially the younger one). She was briefly one for Hareton, until Heathcliff came to reclaim him.

* ShipperOnDeck: She ships Cathy/Lockwood hoping he rescues her from her terrible life. [[spoiler:Later she's all for Cathy/Hareton.]]

* SympathyForTheDevil: Shows shades of this towards the end and tries to have Heathcliff redeeming himself, but he's having none of this.
* UnreliableNarrator: Sadly we'd never have a different point of view of all this drama and we have to rely on her witness, which is partially contaminated by her dislike of Heathcliff and Catherine.

[[folder:Mr. Lockwood]]

* ButtMonkey: The first pages establish him as such in his less than idyllic sojourn at Wuthering Heights.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Played with; he's inclined to think of Heathcliff as a "capital fellow" because he ''wants'' his landlord to be antisocial and reclusive. Heathcliff's less-than-gentlemanly conduct during their early meetings doesn't exactly escape his notice, but he seems willing to wave it off due to the above and, well, Heathcliff being his landlord. After hearing Nelly's full story, he seems to have a highly critical opinion of Heathcliff, but he doesn't do anything about it as he owes him six-month's rent.
** Tellingly, he also has a very high (and accurate) opinion of Hareton Earnshaw, when everyone else considers him an uncultured lout, because he notices Hareton being torn between loyalty to Heathcliff and Cathy. He's still prone to judging Cathy's rudeness a bit harshly even after learning what a BrokenBird she is, though.

* SugarAndIcePersonality: He claims to be such man, but finds out quickly that compared to Heathcliff he's a softy.

[[folder:Cathy]]
!! Catherine Heathcliff [[spoiler:Earnshaw]], née Linton
* BreakTheHaughty: She starts as a slightly haughty but kind-hearted girl, but all the second part of the novel is about Heathcliff breaking her. Under Heathcliff's tyrannical rule over her new husband's home, she withers and becomes [[BrokenBird embittered and cold]].

* DaddysGirl: Her father is a widow man with a single daughter, so she was obviously the princess of the house.

* DefrostingIceQueen: [[spoiler:And a thing quite [[FairForItsDay forward-thinking]], she defrosts by herself taking things on her own hands and making her life less empty.]]

* HairOfGold: Double subverted. She appears cold, cynical, apathetic and rude at the start of the story, subverting the image Lockwood assumes when he observes her beauty and blond hair. However, it's ultimately revealed that Cathy is a good person at heart.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Unlike her mother, who is this ''at her best'', she is this ''at her worst'', at the beginning of her storyline and during her BrokenBird phase. Even at her most bitter, she still asks for Lockwood to be lead back home, instead of let out to get lost in the swamps under the tempest.
* KissingCousins: With Linton, [[spoiler:as Heathcliff set up, but later falls for Hareton]].
* InnocentBigot: Towards servants and social inferiors. Given her [[spoiler:treatment of Hareton]], we suppose she got better.

* SlapSlapKiss: [[spoiler:With Hareton. They form a strong bond after years of dislike from Cathy's side and a dissimulated feelings on Hareton's]].

[[folder:Linton]]

* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: It's never quite stated, [[spoiler:but he seems to have decided to JumpOffTheSlipperySlope and has gone from jerk to sociopath during his stay at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is strongly implied to have brutalized him]].
* ChildByRape: This was strongly implied to be how he was conceived, since Isabella grew to hate Heathcliff, and it's implied he abused her both physically and sexually.
* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:This is how he manages to mimic his parents' worst traits, and his apparent motivation for obeying Heathcliff, but there is actually more to it. His behavior seems to be partly motivated by a genuine pleasure taken in hurting others, or seeing Heathcliff hurt them. ]]
* DomesticAbuse: [[spoiler:His plans for Cathy, as he drops the meek guy façade.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first we hear of his birth by a letter from Isabella, he's described as "an ailing, peevish creature."

%%* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler:Eventually, this is how he turns out...]]
* KissingCousins: With Cathy [[spoiler:as his father did set up.]]

* TwoFirstNames: Heathcliff isn't actually a surname since his father is a foundling, but he has adopted this last name anyway.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: How he secures Catherine's loyalty early on--he provokes her with jeers about her mother, and then she when lightly pushes him he acts so injured that she's forced to tend to him out of guilt.

[[folder:Hareton]]

* AntiVillain: He seems to be a type II-III, constantly undergoing trauma, first because of his father, and later Heathcliff, and believing the latter to have at least some right to do things as he does... [[spoiler:He later pulls a HeelFaceTurn for Cathy. ]]

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Arguably, Heathcliff tries this on him as a way to prove that, in the same conditions, ''anyone'' would have been as bad as he. [[spoiler:It fails miserably, as weirdly enough Hareton developed positive feelings for him and most of all has the gentle nature he has never had.]]

* HeCleansUpNicely: Despite Heathcliff's best efforts to make him dirty and unrefined, it's evident he's good {{hunk}} material with his strong build, broad shoulders, dark hair and dark eyes.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Due to his crush on Cathy. ]]

* HiddenDepths: He seems to carry Heathcliff's spirit, as becomes an ignorant, dirty and uneducated man, but he has the gentle heart Heathcliff will never have [[spoiler:a thing that makes Heathcliff's plan for him fail miserably]].

* KissingCousins: [[spoiler:Unexpectedly to everyone, he forms an unlikely romance with Catherine (II) which brings an HappilyEverAfter in an otherwise dark story]].

* LoveAtFirstSight: [[spoiler:He's instantly smitten with Cathy (II) but it takes years for her to notice and like him back]].
* LoveRedeems: [[spoiler:Cathy's love helps him rise above his circumstances.]]

* MeaningfulName: He's named after the Hareton on the main door, which is obviously the ancestor of the Earnshaws. [[spoiler:He's the one who starts a new beginning for the family.]]
* NeverLearnedToRead: [[spoiler:Until Cathy starts to teach him, leading to the two bonding and Heathcliff eventually losing the will to continue his vendetta.]]

** ''Any'' of the times he tries to be nice to Cathy. [[ObliviousToLove Though she's]] [[WellExcuseMePrincess a bit of a bitch to him]]. [[spoiler:Until she changes her mind, befriends and eventually falls for him.]]

* SlapSlapKiss: Almost literally with [[spoiler:Cathy (II). Their bickering becomes more and more benevolent as they grow fond of each other]].
* StockholmSyndrome: Heathcliff manages to make Hareton look at himself as his only friend and father figure, and when Cathy shows defiance towards Heathcliff by calling him out on his shit Hareton wastes no time in striking her down. ''Wow.''
* {{Tsundere}}: Rare male example. ''Especially'' [[AllLoveIsUnrequited towards Cathy]]. Because of his disadvantaged childhood and an abusive ParentalSubstitute he has not learned how to properly express his feelings, so he could be a sweety one moment and then send you to hell if he feels threatened.

* WealthyEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of the novel, with Heathcliff gone (and no will demanding otherwise), he and Cathy, [[{{Irony}} his only relatives]] inherit both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.]]
* WellExcuseMePrincess: [[spoiler:With Catherine Linton... but love will find a way anyway]]

[[folder:Joseph]]

[[folder:Frances Earnshaw]]
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: When Frances first arrives at Wuthering Heights, Nelly remarks that she has a "troublesome" cough, in addition to getting out of breath when simply ascending the stairs.

[[folder:Mr. Earnshaw]]
* ParentalFavoritism: His obvious favoritism towards Heathcliff inadvertently sets the story's events into motion. Mr Earnshaw grows to dislike Hindley due to his mistreatment of Heathcliff, which he perceives as a personal affront, while Catherine is too mischievous and vexing for a favorite.

[[folder:Mrs. Earnshaw]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: She's prone to episodes of anger intense enough to trigger seizures.

* TheSociopath: He's manipulative, sadistic, and devoid of empathy.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Heathcliff's race is never clear; he is referred to as "dark" and a "gipsy." He might be literally {{UsefulNotes/Romani}}, but it could equally be that people just don't know what else to call him. At one point Nelly fancifully speculates that he could be the son of the Emperor of China and an Indian queen. Heathcliff was born in the 1760s, and Mr. Earnshaw returned with him after a trip to {{UsefulNotes/Liverpool}}. At that time Liverpool was a big international port city and part of the African slave trade. Nelly says he's not "a regular black," but be might be black-biracial. The idea that he's some sort of biracial is also aided by the popular theory that he's actually Mr Earnshaw's bastard son. Heathcliff dips into various tropes like RoguishRomani, ScaryBlackMan, and MixedAncestryIsAttractive.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: He was taken in as a starving orphan and then bullied by his adoptive brother (and later legal guardian) Hindley for most of his childhood. Later in his life, he makes a point of proving that anyone in his shoes would turn out as bad as he. [[spoiler:And it spectacularly fails]].

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Heathcliff's race is never clear; he is referred to as "dark" and a "gipsy." He might be literally {{UsefulNotes/Romani}}, but it could equally be that people just don't know what else to call him. At one point Nelly fancifully speculates that he could be the son of the Emperor of China and an Indian queen. Heathcliff was born in the 1760s, and Mr. Earnshaw returned with him after a trip to {{UsefulNotes/Liverpool}}. At that time Liverpool was a big international port city and part of the African slave trade. Nelly says he's not "a regular black," but be might be black-biracial. The idea that he's some sort of biracial is also aided by the popular theory that he's actually Mr Earnshaw's bastard son.

* RoguishRomani: Heathcliff, the moody and sometimes violent ByronicHero, is described in a few instances as "gipsy" or "dark boy" in an insulting manner.

* ScaryBlackMan: The 1991 edition's illustrations depict him towering over an intimidated Hareton and Cathy Junior. While the novel explicitly points out that he's not 'a regular black', it does repeatedly mention how sinister and intimidating his dark skin, hair, and eyes make him look.

* SurroundedByIdiots: She thinks this of all the mess she witnesses, but she also could be an UnreliableNarrator who doesn't understand Cathy and Heathcliff's sentiments and how handle them.

* KilledOffscreen: She dies offscreen from an illness when her son Linton is 12 years old, thus facilitating his appearance in the main plot and allowing Heathcliff's revenge scheme to kick off.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Heathcliff's race is never clear; he is referred to as "dark" and a "gipsy." He might be literally {{UsefulNotes/Romani}}, but it could equally be that people just don't know what else to call him. At one point Nelly fancifully speculates that he could be the son of the Emperor of China and an Indian queen. Heathcliff was born in the 1760s, and Mr. Earnshaw returned with him after a trip to {{UsefulNotes/Liverpool}}. At that time Liverpool was a big international port city and part of the African slave trade. Nelly says he's not "a regular black," but be might be black-biracial.

* IllBoy: Even as a child, he's weak and sickly.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Heathcliff's exact race is never explained; he is referred to as "dark" and a "gipsy." From his description as a "dark-skinned gypsy", one can surmise that he may possibly have East European/Romanian or Romani roots, due to "gypsy" (and any other variations) coming from the early West European pejorative/racist term used for Romani and East European people.

* HairOfGold: Double subverted. She appears cold, cynical, apathetic and rude at the start of the story, subverting the image Lockwood assumes after he observes her beauty and blond hair. However, it's ultimately revealed that
Cathy is a good person at heart.