Chapter 4 Summary

Mr. Lockwood is curious for gossip about Heathcliff so he talks to his housekeeper, Ellen or Nelly, who has lived there for eighteen years. Mr. Heathcliff is a very rich man, who could afford to live in the grander, Thrushcross Grange, but chooses to rent it out and make even more money. Heathcliff's son is dead and his young widow's maiden name was Catherine Linton. Hareton Earnshaw is Catherine's cousin.

The housekeeper tells Mr. Lockwood that she used to play with Catherine and Hindley and she was there when their father, Mr. Earnshaw, had brought home a little homeless boy. The boy was not well received by the rest of the house, including the housekeeper; however, in only a couple days he and Catherine were good friends. Hindley never liked him.

Chapter 4 Analysis

Chapter four introduces Nelly, or Ellen, Thrushgrove Cross's housekeeper. She...