Chapter XXVI Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XXVI
Where were Cathy and Nelly originally supposed to meet Linton in Chapter 26?
At the guide-stone by the crossroads, on Grange land. A messenger boy redirects them closer to Wuthering Heights instead.
What is Linton doing when Cathy and Nelly find him?
He is lying on the heath, barely a quarter-mile from Wuthering Heights, too weak to rise until they are within a few yards of him.
How does Linton explain his obvious illness to Cathy?
He blames the heavy weather and heat for making him dull, and claims his father says he is growing fast. He asks Cathy to tell Edgar he is "in tolerable health."
What change in Linton's personality does the narrator describe since his last meeting with Cathy?
His pettishness that could be "caressed into fondness" has given way to a "listless apathy" and "self-absorbed moroseness" that repels consolation.
Why does Linton become agitated when Cathy proposes to leave?
He is afraid of Heathcliff's reaction if the visit is too short. He glances fearfully toward the Heights and begs Cathy to stay at least another half-hour.
What does Linton beg Cathy NOT to do if she meets Heathcliff?
He begs her not to "lead him to suppose that I've been extremely silent and stupid" and not to look sad and downcast, because his father "will be angry."
What warning does Linton give about Heathcliff?
"Don't provoke him against me, Catherine, for he is very hard." This reveals that Heathcliff has shifted from neglect to active intimidation of his son.
How do Nelly and Cathy disagree about Linton's health?
Cathy thinks Linton is better because he used to exaggerate his suffering and is now quieter. Nelly believes the opposite—that his silence means he is "far worse."
What startles Linton awake from his slumber on the moor?
He wakes in "bewildered terror" thinking he heard his father call his name, and frantically looks around to detect Heathcliff's presence.
What is Heathcliff's larger plan behind arranging the meeting between Cathy and Linton?
Heathcliff wants to force a marriage between them so that when Linton dies, Heathcliff will inherit Thrushcross Grange through property law, completing his revenge on the Linton and Earnshaw families.
What does the weather symbolize in Chapter 26?
The "close, sultry" day "devoid of sunshine" mirrors Linton's suffocating existence under Heathcliff's control and foreshadows the oppressive events ahead.
What is the significance of the meeting's location being moved closer to Wuthering Heights?
It symbolizes Heathcliff's growing control over the situation. Edgar ordered them to stay on Grange land, but Heathcliff's influence has already pulled them onto his territory.
How does Cathy feel by the time she rides home?
Her displeasure softens into "a perplexed sensation of pity and regret, largely blended with vague, uneasy doubts about Linton's actual circumstances, physical and social."
What does Cathy mean when she says the interview feels like "a task he was compelled to perform"?
She senses that Linton is meeting her not out of genuine desire but because Heathcliff has ordered him to, possibly to avoid punishment. She recognizes the visit serves Heathcliff's purposes, not Linton's.