Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights

by

Emily Brontë

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Wuthering Heights: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Lockwood returns to Wuthering Heights the next day. As he arrives, it begins to snow. No one answers his knock at the door, and an old servant with a heavy Yorkshire accent named Joseph tells him that Heathcliff is away.
Many plot points in the novel coincide with harsh weather, further building the story's Gothic feel. These plot events always occur at Wuthering Heights,
Themes
Gothic Literature and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Nature and Civilization Theme Icon
Eventually a rough young man lets Lockwood in and brings him to a sitting room. In the room also is a beautiful but rather rude and haughty young woman. Soon after, Heathcliff arrives—he scolds Lockwood for coming, then begrudgingly invites him to dinner.
More Gothic mystery. Note the contrast between the seemingly lower class rough (i.e. natural) young man and higher-class beautiful but haughty (i.e. civilized) woman.
Themes
Gothic Literature and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Nature and Civilization Theme Icon
Class Theme Icon
During the meal, Lockwood learns that the young woman (whom he assumed was Heathcliff's wife) is the widow of Heathcliff's son and that the rough young man (whom Lockwood thought was Heathcliff's son) is Heathcliff's nephew.
Tangled family trees are another common feature of Gothic tales.
Themes
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Class Theme Icon
Literary Devices
The meal is awkward—at one point the young woman threatens to use witchcraft on Joseph the servant. The snow also turns to a blizzard, and while discussing how Lockwood will get home, the woman tells Heathcliff that if he lets Lockwood leave alone, she hopes Lockwood's ghost will haunt him.
More Gothic elements. A ghost haunting Heathcliff foreshadows future events, as does the woman's hope for revenge on Heathcliff. Note how the storm intensifies along with the passions in the house.
Themes
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Nature and Civilization Theme Icon
Revenge and Repetition Theme Icon
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Fed up with the bickering, and with no one willing to guide him home, Lockwood takes a lantern, promising to return it the next day, and leaves. But Joseph thinks he's stealing the lantern and sends the dogs after him. The dogs pin Lockwood down, which amuses Heathcliff and Hareton. Lockwood then gets a nosebleed and is forced to spend the night at Wuthering Heights. Zillah the housekeeper leads him inside.
In this scene, Lockwood comes off, quite simply, as a wimp. He can't handle the passions in Wuthering Heights, and also can't handle either the storm or the dogs. Heathcliff and Hareton are amused because they could easily handle such things. Nature vs. civilization.
Themes
Gothic Literature and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Nature and Civilization Theme Icon