Chapter XXXII Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XXXII
What year is it when Lockwood returns to the area in Chapter 32?
September 1802, about eight months after his original visit in late 1801.
What does Lockwood notice is different about Wuthering Heights when he arrives?
The gate opens easily without climbing or knocking, flowers (stocks and wallflowers) bloom in the garden, and both doors and windows stand open.
What scene does Lockwood observe through the window at Wuthering Heights?
He sees young Catherine teaching Hareton Earnshaw to read, with her playfully correcting him and their heads close together over a book.
What major news does Nelly Dean share with Lockwood?
She tells him that Heathcliff died three months earlier, describing it as a "queer" end.
Why did Nelly Dean move from Thrushcross Grange to Wuthering Heights?
After Zillah left, Heathcliff asked Nelly to come and take her place, instructing her to keep Catherine out of his sight.
Why did Hareton burn his books before the events of Chapter 32?
Because Catherine laughed at his attempts to teach himself to read, humiliating him so deeply that he destroyed the books and gave up.
What accident confines Hareton to the kitchen and sets the stage for his reconciliation with Catherine?
His gun burst while hunting on the hills, cutting his arm with a splinter and causing significant blood loss.
What strategies does Catherine use to try to befriend Hareton before their reconciliation?
She reads aloud from pleasant books when he is nearby and deliberately leaves books lying about in interesting parts, hoping to tempt him.
How does Catherine finally break through Hareton’s resistance on Easter Monday?
She tells him directly she wants to be his cousin and friend, apologizes for her cruelty, kisses his cheek when he refuses to shake hands, and wraps a book as a gift with an offer to teach him to read.
What does Hareton reveal that surprises Catherine during their argument?
He tells her he has angered Heathcliff "a hundred times" by taking her part, even while she sneered at and despised him.
What is Joseph’s reaction to seeing Catherine and Hareton sitting together?
He is "perfectly aghast" and deeply disturbed, revealing his emotion through immense sighs. He tells Hareton to leave and declares the room is no longer fit for them.
What do the open gates, doors, and windows at Wuthering Heights symbolize in Chapter 32?
They symbolize the end of imprisonment and isolation that characterized the Heights under Heathcliff’s control, representing freedom and the breaking of barriers between characters and families.
How does Catherine’s gift of a book to Hareton reverse the cycle of the older generation?
Just as Hindley denied Heathcliff education and Heathcliff in turn degraded Hareton, Catherine’s book and teaching offer restore what was taken away, replacing revenge with generosity.
What do Catherine’s light ringlets blending with Hareton’s brown locks symbolize?
The mingling of their hair symbolizes the merging of the Linton (Grange) and Earnshaw (Heights) bloodlines, suggesting the healing union of the two families.
What does the transplanting of Grange flowers to the Heights garden represent?
It represents the successful blending of the two previously opposed households and the softening of Wuthering Heights’ harsh environment through Grange influences.
What does Nelly’s final declaration about Catherine and Hareton’s union reveal about the novel’s direction?
Her statement that their wedding will be "the crown of all my wishes" signals the novel’s movement toward domestic resolution and peace after generations of conflict.