Heathcliff is torn between his love for Catherine, the daughter of the man who took him in as a child, and his conflict with her brother, Hindley. When Catherine’s father passes away, Hindley takes out his frustration on Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s own feelings for Catherine are unrequited, for she feels that the difference in social standing cannot let them be together. When she finds herself growing closer to Edgar Linton, Catherine begins to consider his proposal. Heathcliff runs away from home and disappears, leaving Catherine to fall ill out of sheer spite. He returns, however, and begins his quest in paying Edgar back for seducing Catherine by allowing Edgar’s sister to fall hopelessly in love with him. The saga of unrequited love and the descriptions of the desolate moorland on which this story takes place make this not only Emily Bronte’s sole surviving novel, but also the very standard of the Romance genre.

About Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë was a British novelist and writer, the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings. She was the sister of Charlotte, Anne and Branwell Brontë.

The current title has been adapted several times onto the silver screen, most notably in 1939 starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, directed by William Wyler.