Chapter XVII Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XVII
Who arrives unexpectedly at Thrushcross Grange at the beginning of Chapter 17?
Isabella Heathcliff (née Linton). She arrives soaked, bruised, and bleeding from a cut beneath her ear, having run across the moors from Wuthering Heights.
What does Isabella do with her wedding ring when she arrives at the Grange?
She slips it off her finger, throws it on the floor, strikes it with the poker, and then drops it into the fire to burn—symbolically destroying her marriage to Heathcliff.
Why did Hindley Earnshaw try to stay sober on the day of Catherine's funeral?
He intended to attend Catherine's funeral. However, he failed and instead sat down by the fire drinking gin and brandy by the tumblerful.
Where has Heathcliff been spending his time in the days following Catherine's death?
He has been a virtual stranger at Wuthering Heights, locking himself in his room to pray and weep, then going straight down to Thrushcross Grange to keep vigil at Catherine's grave.
What does Hindley plan to do when Heathcliff returns from Catherine's grave?
Hindley locks the doors and produces a knife and loaded pistol, planning to shoot Heathcliff when he tries to enter.
How does Isabella respond when Hindley asks her to be silent about his plan?
She refuses to be silent. She warns Heathcliff through the window that Hindley intends to shoot him, but she also refuses to open the door to let him in.
What cruel suggestion does Isabella make to Heathcliff through the window?
She tells him to go stretch himself over Catherine's grave and die like a faithful dog, saying the world is not worth living in now that Catherine is gone.
How does Heathcliff get inside Wuthering Heights after being locked out?
He flings himself on Hindley's weapon, wrenches it away (the knife springs back and cuts Hindley's wrist), then smashes through the window division with a stone and leaps inside.
What does Heathcliff do to Hindley after disarming him?
He kicks and tramples on Hindley, dashes his head repeatedly against the stone floor, and only stops when he runs out of breath. He then roughly bandages Hindley's wrist wound.
What provokes Heathcliff to throw a knife at Isabella the next morning?
Isabella deliberately taunts him by saying Catherine would have been disgusted by the title of "Mrs. Heathcliff," and that if Catherine had married him, she would not have endured his behavior quietly.
Where does Isabella settle after leaving Wuthering Heights, and what happens there?
She settles in the south, near London, where she gives birth to a son whom she names Linton. She never returns to the Yorkshire moors.
How does Dr. Kenneth describe Hindley's death to Nelly?
He says Hindley "died true to his character: drunk as a lord" at barely twenty-seven years old. He also notes that Heathcliff, by contrast, looks "blooming" and is regaining health.
What suspicion does Nelly harbor about Hindley's death?
She wonders privately whether Hindley "had fair play"—hinting that Heathcliff may have contributed to or hastened his death, though the novel leaves this deliberately ambiguous.
What does Heathcliff declare over young Hareton at Hindley's funeral?
"Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it!"—vowing to warp Hareton as he himself was warped.
How does Heathcliff gain ownership of Wuthering Heights?
Hindley had mortgaged every yard of land to fund his gambling addiction, and Heathcliff was the mortgagee. Upon Hindley's death, Heathcliff holds all the debts and takes full possession.
How does Nelly contrast Edgar Linton and Hindley Earnshaw as grieving husbands?
She uses a shipwreck metaphor: when Hindley's ship struck, the captain abandoned his post; Edgar displayed "the true courage of a loyal and faithful soul." One hoped, the other despaired.
Why does Edgar call his daughter "Cathy" instead of "Catherine"?
He never called the first Catherine by a shortened name, and Heathcliff habitually used "Catherine." Calling his daughter "Cathy" creates a distinction from her mother while maintaining a connection to her.
What animal imagery does Brontë use to describe Heathcliff in this chapter?
He is described with "sharp cannibal teeth" gleaming through the dark, a "black countenance" looking "blightingly" through the window, and is called a "fiend," "incarnate goblin," and "tyrant."
What narrative technique does Brontë use in Chapter 17?
A nested first-person narrative: Isabella tells her story to Nelly, who in turn relates it to Lockwood. This creates three layers of narration and introduces potential bias at each level.
How does Isabella describe her escape from Wuthering Heights?
"I bounded, leaped, and flew down the steep road; then, quitting its windings, shot direct across the moor, rolling over banks, and wading through marshes."—She compares herself to a soul escaped from purgatory.