Chapter XXVIII Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XXVIII
Who releases Nelly Dean from her locked room at Wuthering Heights?
Zillah, the housekeeper, releases Nelly on the fifth day of her imprisonment.
What cover story has spread through Gimmerton about Nelly and Catherine?
The village believes Nelly and Catherine were lost in the Blackhorse marsh. Heathcliff allows the rumor to circulate.
What message does Heathcliff instruct Nelly to carry to the Grange?
That Catherine will follow "in time to attend the squire's funeral" — cruelly implying Edgar Linton is about to die.
What is Linton Heathcliff doing when Nelly finds him alone at the Heights?
He is lying on the settle sucking a stick of sugar-candy, watching Nelly with apathetic eyes.
What does Linton claim about Catherine's possessions?
Linton insists that everything Catherine owns — her books, birds, pony Minny — now belongs to him, because "papa says everything she has is mine."
What does Catherine offer Linton in exchange for the key to her room?
She offers him her gold locket containing two miniature portraits — one of her mother and one of Edgar.
What does Heathcliff do when he discovers the locket dispute?
He strikes Catherine down, wrenches Edgar's portrait from her, and crushes it under his foot.
How does Linton describe his reaction to Heathcliff striking Catherine?
He says he "winked" — meaning he flinched. He compares it to watching his father strike a dog or horse and admits it frightens him.
How has Edgar Linton's appearance changed when Nelly returns to the Grange?
He looks like an image of sadness and resignation. Though thirty-nine, he appears ten years younger.
Why does Edgar decide to alter his will?
He realizes Heathcliff's goal is to seize both the personal property and estate through Linton. Edgar wants to place Catherine's fortune in the hands of trustees so it cannot fall to Heathcliff.
Why does the plan to change Edgar's will fail?
The lawyer Mr. Green has been bribed by Heathcliff and deliberately delays his arrival until after Edgar's death, making the change impossible.
Why do the servants Nelly sends to retrieve Catherine return empty-handed?
Heathcliff tells them Catherine is too ill to leave her room and refuses to let them see her.
How does Linton help Catherine escape from Wuthering Heights?
He steals the key, unlocks and re-locks the door without shutting it, then asks to sleep with Hareton to divert suspicion.
How does Catherine physically escape the Heights?
She climbs out through her mother's old chamber window and descends to the ground using a fir tree growing close to the wall.
What are Edgar Linton's last words?
"I am going to her; and you, darling child, shall come to us!" — referring to his late wife, the first Catherine.
How is Edgar's death described?
He dies blissfully and peacefully, with a "rapt, radiant gaze" fixed on his daughter. His pulse stops imperceptibly, without any struggle.
What does Mr. Green do after Edgar's death?
He takes charge of the Grange, fires all servants except Nelly, and tries to have Edgar buried in the chapel instead of beside his wife.
What prevents Mr. Green from overriding Edgar's burial wishes?
Edgar's existing will specifies where he should be buried, and Nelly's loud protests stop Green from changing the arrangements.
What is Catherine's legal name after Edgar's death?
She is referred to as Mrs. Linton Heathcliff, reflecting her forced marriage to Linton.
What does the crushed portrait of Edgar symbolize?
It symbolizes Heathcliff's campaign to obliterate the Linton family's legacy and his dominance over both households.
How does Chapter 28 contrast the two houses thematically?
Wuthering Heights is a place of imprisonment and violence, while Thrushcross Grange — even in mourning — is marked by tenderness, devotion, and peaceful death.
What does the harvest moon represent in Catherine's escape scene?
The harvest moon illuminating her flight symbolizes the transition from darkness and captivity at the Heights to the light and freedom of the Grange, even as that freedom arrives alongside loss.
How does this chapter reveal the limitations of law and civilized institutions?
Edgar's legal efforts to protect Catherine fail because Heathcliff has bribed the lawyer. The law proves powerless against determined corruption and raw will.
What does Linton's decision to help Catherine escape reveal about his character?
Despite his selfishness and cowardice, Linton's act shows a flicker of genuine feeling for Catherine — though he suffers consequences from his father for it.