Chapter XVI Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XVI
What happens to Catherine Linton at the beginning of Chapter 16?
She gives birth to a premature daughter around midnight and dies two hours later without regaining consciousness.
Why is the newborn Catherine described as an "unwelcomed infant"?
She is premature (seven months), her mother has just died, and no one attends to her in the first hours of life. Additionally, Nelly laments that the baby is a girl rather than a boy who could inherit the estate.
Why does Nelly wish the baby had been a boy?
Without a male heir, Edgar Linton's estate will pass to his sister Isabella — and by extension to Heathcliff, who married Isabella. A son would have secured the estate for Edgar's direct line.
How does Nelly describe Catherine's appearance after death?
Catherine's brow is smooth, her eyelids closed, and her lips wear the expression of a smile. Nelly says no angel in heaven could be more beautiful than she appears.
What does Nelly criticize about Edgar's grief?
She notes the selfishness in his love — he grieves for his own loss rather than rejoicing in Catherine's release from her tormented earthly existence.
How does Heathcliff already know Catherine is dead before Nelly tells him?
When Nelly finds him outside beneath an ash tree, he immediately says "She's dead!" The text implies an almost supernatural bond between them, though he may also have guessed from the nighttime activity at the Grange.
What natural detail shows how long Heathcliff has been standing outside?
A pair of ousels (blackbirds) are building a nest just three feet from him, undisturbed by his presence, as if he were a piece of timber. His hair is also soaked with dew.
Quote Heathcliff's famous plea to Catherine's spirit.
"Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! ... I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!"
What does Heathcliff do with the locket around Catherine's neck?
He opens the locket, removes Edgar's lock of light hair, and replaces it with his own black lock of hair.
How does Nelly respond to Heathcliff's manipulation of the locket?
She twists both locks of hair — Edgar's and Heathcliff's — together and encloses them both in the locket.
What is symbolically significant about Catherine's burial location?
She is buried on a green slope in the corner of the churchyard where the wall is low enough for moor plants to climb over. This liminal spot — between civilization and the wild moors — reflects Catherine's divided nature.
Why is Catherine not buried in the Linton chapel or the Earnshaw family plot?
Her burial on the moor-edge slope, away from both family plots, reflects her position between two worlds and two families. She belongs fully to neither the Lintons nor the Earnshaws in death, just as in life.
Who attends Catherine's funeral?
Only Edgar (her husband), tenants, and servants attend. Hindley Earnshaw (her brother) is invited but does not come. Isabella is not invited.
What does Heathcliff's violent outburst (dashing his head against the tree) reveal about his character?
It reveals the depth of his passion and the self-destructive nature of his love. Nelly notes blood on the bark from repeated impacts, suggesting he has been doing this all night. His grief is wild and animalistic — he howls "like a savage beast."