Chapter XXX Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XXX
Who provides the account of life at Wuthering Heights in Chapter 30?
Zillah, the housekeeper at Wuthering Heights. She relays the events to Nelly Dean, who then tells them to Lockwood.
What does Catherine do immediately upon arriving at Wuthering Heights?
She runs upstairs and shuts herself in Linton's room without greeting Zillah or Joseph, and stays there until morning to nurse him.
How does Heathcliff respond when Catherine begs him to send for a doctor for Linton?
He refuses, saying Linton's life is "not worth a farthing" and he won't spend a farthing on him. He tells Catherine to act as nurse herself or lock Linton up and leave him.
Why does Zillah refuse to help Catherine care for Linton?
Heathcliff ordered Zillah to leave that labor to Catherine. Zillah says she never dares disobey the master and fears losing her place.
What does Catherine say when Heathcliff asks how she feels after Linton's death?
"He's safe, and I'm free." She adds bitterly that she has been left to struggle against death alone for so long that she feels and sees only death.
What does Linton's will reveal, and how was it obtained?
Linton's will bequeaths all of his and Catherine's moveable property to Heathcliff. The will was extracted from the dying boy through threats or coercion during the week Catherine was away attending her father Edgar's death.
How does Heathcliff claim the Linton family lands?
He claims them through his legal rights as Linton's father and through his deceased wife Isabella's family claim. Since Linton was a minor, he couldn't technically will the lands, but Catherine has no cash or friends to challenge Heathcliff's possession.
How long does Catherine stay isolated upstairs after Linton's death?
A fortnight (two weeks). Zillah visits her twice a day with necessities, but Catherine proudly repels her attempts at friendliness.
What is Catherine's appearance when she first comes downstairs after Linton's death?
She is dressed in black with her yellow curls combed back behind her ears "as plain as a Quaker." She could not comb the tangles out of her hair.
How does Hareton react when he learns Catherine will come downstairs?
He blushes, looks at his dirty hands and clothes, and quickly hides his train-oil and gunpowder. He wants to appear presentable for her.
What does Hareton do that makes Catherine furiously recoil?
While standing behind her as she reads, Hareton gently strokes one of her curls, "as gently as if it were a bird." She starts round in fury and tells him to get away.
What does Hareton ask Zillah to do on his behalf?
He whispers to Zillah to ask Catherine to read aloud to them, adding "Dunnot say I wanted it, but ask of yourseln" — he is too shy to ask her directly.
How does Catherine respond when asked to read aloud?
She angrily rejects the request, denouncing the whole household: "When I would have given my life for one kind word, even to see one of your faces, you all kept off."
Why is Zillah's narration significant in terms of the novel's narrative structure?
Zillah provides an unreliable perspective that judges Catherine as "haughty" without understanding her trauma. This adds another narrative layer, as Nelly relays Zillah's account to Lockwood, creating a story within a story within a story.
What does Lockwood plan to do at the end of Chapter 30?
He plans to ride to Wuthering Heights to inform Heathcliff that he will leave Thrushcross Grange and spend the next six months in London, resolving not to spend another winter there.
How does Chapter 30 foreshadow the novel's resolution?
The tentative interactions between Hareton and Catherine — his efforts to be presentable, his gentle curiosity about her, and her eventual need for companionship due to the cold — plant the seeds of the redemptive love that will ultimately break the cycle of revenge.