Chapter X Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter X
How long has Heathcliff been away when he returns in Chapter 10?
Three years. He disappeared shortly before Catherine married Edgar Linton.
Where does Nelly first encounter the returned Heathcliff?
At the kitchen door of Thrushcross Grange, on a September evening. He has been waiting under the porch for an hour.
Where does Heathcliff say he is staying, and why?
At Wuthering Heights, where Hindley invited him in after losing money to him at cards. Heathcliff says he wants to be within walking distance of the Grange.
What was Heathcliff's original plan upon returning?
To glimpse Catherine one last time, settle his score with Hindley, and then kill himself. Catherine's joyful welcome changed his mind.
What does Catherine do in the middle of the night after Heathcliff's visit?
She wakes Nelly to talk about her happiness, saying Edgar is sulking and she needs a "living creature" to share her joy with.
How does Catherine expose Isabella's secret crush?
She physically holds Isabella in the room and announces to Heathcliff that Isabella "dotes on you more than myself," mocking her devotion while Isabella struggles to escape.
What question does Heathcliff ask about Isabella after she leaves the room?
"She's her brother's heir, is she not?" This reveals his calculating interest in the Linton fortune.
What prompts Lockwood to ask Nelly to resume her story at the start of the chapter?
He is recovering from illness and too weak to read, so he asks Nelly to continue the history of Heathcliff to pass the time.
How does Nelly describe the first six months of Catherine and Edgar's marriage?
She says Catherine behaved "infinitely better" than expected. Edgar avoided conflict at all costs, and the household enjoyed peace because no one opposed Catherine's will.
How has Heathcliff's appearance changed upon his return?
He has grown tall, athletic, and well-formed with an upright, military-like carriage. He looks intelligent and dignified, though a "half-civilised ferocity" still lurks in his dark eyes.
How does Edgar react when he learns Heathcliff has arrived?
He calls Heathcliff "the gipsy—the ploughboy" and suggests receiving him in the kitchen, not the parlour. During the visit he grows pale with annoyance.
What metaphor does Catherine use to mock Edgar's class snobbery?
She proposes setting two tables—one for Edgar and Isabella as "gentry" and one for herself and Heathcliff as "the lower orders"—shaming Edgar into admitting Heathcliff to the parlour.
What does Isabella say about her love for Heathcliff?
"I love him more than ever you loved Edgar, and he might love me, if you would let him!" She accuses Catherine of being a "dog in the manger."
How does Heathcliff react to learning about Isabella's feelings?
With cold indifference. He stares at Isabella "as one might do at a strange repulsive animal" and later says he likes her "too ill" to pursue, except in a "ghoulish fashion."
What does Joseph report about life at Wuthering Heights since Heathcliff's arrival?
Hindley and Heathcliff stay up all night gambling with dice and brandy behind closed shutters. Hindley is borrowing money on his land and is nearly self-destructing, while Heathcliff counts his money calmly.
What does the metaphor "the honeysuckles embracing the thorn" describe?
The early Linton marriage: Edgar and Isabella (the honeysuckles) yield to Catherine (the thorn). There are no mutual concessions—one stands erect while the others bend.
How does Chapter 10 explore the theme of appearance versus reality?
Heathcliff's exterior is completely transformed—gentlemanly and dignified—but Nelly notes his mind is "unchangeable and unchanged." His civilised surface conceals unchanged vengeful intentions.
How does Catherine's warning to Isabella reflect the theme of romantic illusion?
Catherine tells Isabella that Heathcliff is no "rough diamond" or "pearl-containing oyster" but a "fierce, pitiless, wolfish man." Isabella's refusal to listen illustrates how romantic fantasy blinds people to danger.
What does Catherine's nighttime speech to Nelly reveal about her self-awareness?
It reveals deep self-delusion. She claims the event has "reconciled me to God and humanity," calls herself "an angel," and says she could kill Linton without retaliation—showing she takes Edgar's devotion for granted.
How does the chapter develop the theme of revenge?
Heathcliff positions himself at Wuthering Heights to exploit Hindley's gambling addiction and borrowing, while his inquiry about Isabella's inheritance suggests he is planning to seize the Linton fortune through marriage.
What animal imagery does Nelly use to close Chapter 10?
She describes an "evil beast" prowling between a stray sheep and the fold, comparing Heathcliff to a predator stalking the vulnerable inhabitants of both houses.
How does Brontë use the frame narrative at the start of Chapter 10?
The chapter opens with Lockwood's diary, reminding readers that the story is filtered through multiple narrators (Lockwood recording Nelly's account), each with personal biases and limited knowledge.
What is the effect of Catherine comparing Heathcliff to natural forces?
She calls him "an arid wilderness of furze and whinstone" and says Isabella is a canary she would not put "into the park on a winter's day"—linking Heathcliff to the harsh, untameable moor landscape versus Isabella's fragile domesticity.
What role does foreshadowing play at the end of Chapter 10?
Nelly notices Heathcliff smile to himself and lapse into "ominous musing" when Catherine is absent, and she confesses a "presentiment" that he should have stayed away—foreshadowing the destruction his return will cause.