Son of Mr. Earnshaw, brother of Catherine, foster brother of Heathcliff, father of Hareton, husband of Frances. He inherits Wuthering Heights from his father. A hardcore drinker and gambler, he falls apart after his wife's death. He evolves from a fun-loving, good-natured boy into an angry, bitter, jealous, and self-destructive man.
Hindley Earnshaw Quotes in Wuthering Heights
The Wuthering Heights quotes below are all either spoken by Hindley Earnshaw or refer to Hindley Earnshaw. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
Nelly, I see now, you think me a selfish wretch; but did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married we should be beggars? whereas, if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother's power?
Related Characters:
Catherine Earnshaw Linton (speaker), Ellen "Nelly" Dean, Hindley Earnshaw, Heathcliff, Edgar Linton
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Wuthering Heights LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hindley Earnshaw Character Timeline in Wuthering Heights
The timeline below shows where the character Hindley Earnshaw appears in Wuthering Heights. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...an entry from a time just after her father died, in which her older brother Hindley makes Catherine and Heathcliff listen to Joseph's dull sermons. From the entry it's clear that...
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Chapter 4
...about Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. Nelly Dean says she grew up at Wuthering Heights with Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw, and tells Lockwood that Heathcliff has a dead son and is rich...
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...the street. Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine, took to her foster brother almost immediately, but Earnshaw's son Hindley hated him. Hindley was jealous of his father's affection for Heathcliff and expressed his jealousy...
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Chapter 5
Time passes. Mr. Earnshaw's health deteriorates, and he becomes even less accepting of Hindley's behavior toward Heathcliff. He sends Hindley away to college, allowing Catherine and Heathcliff to grow...
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Chapter 6
Hindley returns for his father's funeral. He brings with him his somewhat silly and ineffectual wife,...
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One day, Heathcliff and Catherine don't return from one of their adventures and Hindley orders that they be locked out. Nelly, though, waits up for them, and she is...
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The next day, Mr. Linton goes to Wuthering Heights and berates Hindley for letting Catherine run wild. Ashamed, Hindley blames Heathcliff and says that Heathcliff may no...
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Chapter 7
Hindley allows Heathcliff to greet her "like the other servants." Catherine kisses Heathcliff hello, but teases...
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...her children to come only on the condition that they be kept away from Heathcliff. Hindley sends Heathcliff to the kitchen. Before he can go, Edgar makes a disparaging comment about...
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Catherine, though, thinks that both Edgar and Hindley mistreated Heathcliff, and after dinner she slips away from the others to visit Heathcliff. Nelly...
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Chapter 8
...a week later—childbirth had aggravated a case of consumption that she had long suffered from. Hindley is devastated. He hands the baby over to Nelly to care for. He turns to...
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One day when Hindley is out, Heathcliff doesn't go to the fields and instead plans to spend the day...
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...tells Nelly to leave the room, since she wants to be alone with Edgar. Nelly refuses—Hindley had told her to chaperone Catherine. Furious, Catherine slaps and pinches Nelly, and even shakes...
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Nelly leaves Catherine and Edgar alone. When she does later enter to warn them that Hindley has come home, drunk and angry as usual, she has the sense that they have...
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Chapter 9
That night, Hindley grabs Hareton from Nelly in a rage, but then accidentally drops the baby over the...
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Yet she also says that she cannot marry Heathcliff because Hindley has so degraded Heathcliff that marrying him would be like degrading herself.
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...Heathcliff has still not returned, and Edgar and Catherine get married. Nelly leaves Hareton with Hindley and Joseph at Wuthering Heights and moves to Thrushcross Grange.
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Chapter 10
...says that he returned hoping only to catch a glimpse of Catherine, exact revenge on Hindley, and then kill himself. But Catherine's joy at seeing him has changed his mind. Edgar,...
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...Heights to find Nelly and get information from her about Catherine. But instead he found Hindley in the middle of a card game. During the game it was clear Heathcliff had...
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...from. Nelly seconds this advice, and adds that there are rumors that Heathcliff is lending Hindley money to support his gambling habit.
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Chapter 13
...to Edgar to punish him for Catherine's illness, he'll take it out on Isabella instead. Hindley, Hareton, and Joseph treat her just as badly. Isabella also writes that Hindley is completely...
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Chapter 16
Hindley does not attend Catherine's funeral, though he is invited. Isabella is not invited.
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Chapter 17
Isabella tells Nelly that Hindley desperately tried to stay sober in order to attend Catherine's funeral, but fell apart the...
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When Heathcliff returned, Isabella warned him of Hindley's plans, but didn't let him into the house. Hindley then tried to shoot Heathcliff from...
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Hindley dies six months after Catherine, and Nelly goes to Wuthering Heights to look after the...
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