Chapter 32
Return to the Heights
1802.—This September I was invited to devastate the moors of a friend in the north, and on my journey to his abode, I unexpectedly came within fifteen miles of Gimmerton. The ostler at a roadside public-house was holding a pail of water to refresh my horses, when a cart of very green oats, newly reaped, passed by, and he remarked,—“Yon’s frough Gimmerton, nah! They’re allas three wick’ after other folk wi’ ther harvest.” “Gimmerton?” I repeated—my residence in that locality had already grown dim and dreamy. “Ah! I know. How far is it from this?” “Happen fourteen mile o’er th’…
Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"In winter nothing more dreary, in summer nothing more divine, than those glens shut in by hills"
Context: Returning to the moorland
The landscape mirrors the novel's shifting mood.
In Today's Words:
Some places hit different depending on the season. Winter makes everything look dead and hopeless, but summer transforms the same spot into paradise. It's like how your perspective on life changes based on what you're going through. The construction sites Heath works look brutal in bad weather but beautiful when things are going right.
"Ah! you have not heard of Heathcliff’s death, I see"
Context: Rent business at the Heights
The tyrant is gone before the full story unfolds.
In Today's Words:
You haven't heard that the boss died, have you? Sometimes the person who made everyone's life hell just disappears from the picture before you even realize how much they controlled everything. Heath would understand that feeling when toxic people finally leave your workplace or neighborhood for good.
"I want—that I’m glad—that I should like you to be my cousin now"
Context: Easter Monday by the hearth
She names the thaw in plain words.
In Today's Words:
I want us to be family now, to actually care about each other. Sometimes after years of conflict, people finally admit they want connection instead of fighting. It happens in families, at work, even in politics when former enemies realize they're better off working together than staying bitter.
"I shall envy no one on their wedding day: there won’t be a happier woman than myself in England!"
Context: Closing hope for Catherine and Hareton
Nelly reads their union as redemption.
In Today's Words:
I'll be the happiest person alive watching them get married. There's nothing better than seeing two people you care about finally find happiness together after going through hell. It's like watching your kids or friends overcome their struggles and build something beautiful despite all the obstacles they faced.
Thematic Threads
The Power of Place
In This Chapter
The moors and Gimmerton landscape hold deep emotional significance that draws Lockwood back despite time and distance
Development
Physical environments become repositories of memory and emotion, shaping our identity even when we try to leave them behind
In Your Life:
Think about places that still affect you - your childhood home, where you had your first heartbreak, where you felt most alive. These locations hold power over us because they're where we became who we are.
Time and Memory
In This Chapter
Lockwood's memories of Gimmerton had grown 'dim and dreamy' until suddenly confronted with the reality of return
Development
Distance can make intense experiences feel unreal, but proximity instantly reactivates dormant emotions and memories
In Your Life:
Notice how certain songs, smells, or places can instantly transport you back to who you were years ago, complete with all those old feelings.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
This is not a test. Five prompts guide you through the chapter, from how it opens to how it closes, so you notice context and rhythm rather than facts to memorize. Sit with each question in your own words. When you see "One way to read it," treat it as a starting point, not the only answer.
- 1
September 1802: Lockwood finds open doors, flowers, and firelight at the Heights, then sees Catherine drilling Hareton in reading and kissing him as reward before Joseph's curses. What changed in his absence?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
Hostility softened into domestic instruction and affection. The house looks inhabited rather than merely defended.
- 2
Nelly tells him Heathcliff died three months ago; she came for Catherine's sake and smuggled in books, but Catherine taunted Hareton until his gun burst wounded him. What path led from mockery to alliance?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
Restlessness and injury broke the old cruelty. Catherine's need for connection finally turned toward Hareton instead of only against him.
- 3
On Easter Monday frost bound them indoors; she broke his pipe, declared she wanted him as cousin, kissed his cheek, and gave him a book to learn from. Why Easter?
application • mediumOne way to read it
Resurrection imagery fits new beginning. Forced proximity turned into chosen kinship and shared study.
- 4
Nelly hopes for their New Year's wedding; Lockwood slips away jealous of their happiness. Why might he feel jealous?
application • deepOne way to read it
He entered as bored outsider and leaves confronted with live tenderness. Their bond exposes his own emptiness on the moors.
- 5
Lockwood settles rent with Nelly, now housekeeper at the Heights instead of the Grange. How have the estates swapped emotional centers?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
Life moved back toward Wuthering Heights with Cathy and Hareton. The Grange recedes as the moor house becomes site of possible healing.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Mapping Your Emotional Geography
Think about a place from your past that still holds emotional charge for you - positive or negative. Write about why you think this location has such power over your memory and feelings. Consider: What happened there? How has your relationship to this place changed over time? If you returned there now, what do you think you'd be seeking?
Consider:
- •Places often hold multiple layers of meaning and memory
- •Our relationship to locations changes as we grow and heal
- •Sometimes we're drawn back to places where we left parts of ourselves
- •Physical environments can trigger emotional states we thought we'd moved past
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you felt unexpectedly pulled back to a person, place, or situation from your past. What were you telling yourself about why you wanted to return? What do you think you were really seeking? How did the actual experience compare to what you expected or hoped for?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 33
Earnshaw remains unable to work, staying close to home while mysterious activities unfold in the garden. A young girl persuades her cousin to clear ground for new plants from the Grange, hinting at fresh beginnings and carefully laid plans that will reshape the future of both estates.
