Plot Summary
Edgar Linton is rapidly declining, with hours now accomplishing what months had previously done to his health. Catherine barely leaves his side, but Nelly Dean arranges one last outing to see Linton Heathcliff on the moors, and Edgar consents, hoping his daughter will not be entirely alone after his death. He mistakenly believes Linton's character resembles his own, and Nelly does not correct him.
On a golden August afternoon, Catherine and Nelly ride to meet Linton, who appears more frightened than glad to see them. He is trembling and evasive, confessing only that his father has threatened him and forced him to lure Catherine there. Before Linton can explain further, Heathcliff arrives and, under the pretense of Linton being too weak to walk, persuades Catherine and Nelly to accompany the boy inside Wuthering Heights. Once they cross the threshold, Heathcliff locks the door and traps them inside.
Catherine fearlessly demands the key, even wrestling it from Heathcliff's hand. But he seizes her and strikes her violently on both sides of her head. He announces his plan: Catherine must marry Linton immediately, and she will not be released until she does. Linton, once safe from his father's anger, calmly reveals the scheme—his father wants the marriage completed before Edgar dies, so that Heathcliff can claim Thrushcross Grange through inheritance.
Catherine pleads to be allowed to return to her dying father, even promising to marry Linton willingly, but Heathcliff refuses, relishing Edgar's anguish. Three servants from the Grange come searching for Catherine, but Heathcliff turns them away without the prisoners knowing in time. That night, Nelly and Catherine are locked in Zillah's room. The next morning Heathcliff pulls Catherine out alone, leaving Nelly imprisoned for five full days with only Hareton bringing food once a day.
Analysis
Chapter 27 marks Heathcliff's transformation from brooding antihero to outright villain. His cruelty is no longer expressed through emotional manipulation alone—he resorts to physical violence against a young woman and unlawful imprisonment, prompting Nelly to invoke the law and call his actions felonious. His remark about enjoying a "slow vivisection" of the two young people reveals a sadistic impulse that goes beyond revenge into pure malice.
The chapter exposes Linton Heathcliff as a moral failure. On the moor, he weeps and begs Catherine to save him; once safely inside Wuthering Heights and beyond his father's immediate wrath, he reverts to petty selfishness, demanding tea and dismissing Nelly. His cowardice makes him Heathcliff's perfect instrument—a willing traitor who feels no lasting guilt.
Catherine's courage stands in sharp contrast. She physically confronts Heathcliff, biting his hand for the key, and appeals to his humanity by asking if he has ever loved anyone. Her defiance recalls her mother's fierce spirit, and Heathcliff himself seems momentarily startled by the resemblance. Yet Catherine's bravery cannot overcome brute force, and Brontë uses this imbalance to highlight how completely the powerless are at the mercy of those who control property and physical space.
The locked doors and windows of Wuthering Heights become a powerful symbol of entrapment—mirroring how Heathcliff himself was once imprisoned and degraded by Hindley. His revenge has come full circle: the abused child now abuses the next generation, trapping them in the very house where he suffered. The golden August afternoon outside contrasts grimly with the dark interior, reinforcing the novel's recurring tension between freedom on the moors and confinement within domestic spaces.