Wuthering Heights

Hindley comes home drunk and violent, threatening to kill Nelly with a knife and terrifying his son Hareton. In his drunken rage, he dangles the screaming child over the banister, nearly dropping him to his death. Heathcliff catches the falling baby, saving him—though Hindley's blank stare suggests he'd rather the child had died. After Hindley drinks more brandy and passes out, Catherine confesses to Nelly that Edgar Linton proposed and she accepted. But when Nelly asks why, Catherine admits she loves Edgar because he's handsome, young, and cheerful—but most importantly, marrying him will make her "the greatest woman in the neighborhood." Nelly presses harder: does she love Edgar? Catherine responds that she loves him like "the foliage in the woods"—it changes with seasons. Then comes the devastating revelation: "It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now." Unknown to Catherine, Heathcliff is listening behind the settle. Hearing those words, he slips out into the night. Catherine continues, explaining she accepted Edgar for status, but her soul belongs to Heathcliff: "I am Heathcliff!" She loves him more than herself—they're the same being. But Heathcliff is already gone, having heard only the rejection. He disappears that night, beginning his three-year absence that will transform him into a gentleman bent on revenge.