Plot Summary
It is September 1802, and Mr. Lockwood unexpectedly finds himself near Gimmerton while traveling north. On impulse, he rides to Thrushcross Grange, only to find a new housekeeper who tells him that Nelly Dean now lives at Wuthering Heights. Lockwood walks to the Heights and discovers a transformed place: the gate is unlocked, flowers bloom in the garden, and doors and windows stand open to the warm evening air.
Peering inside, Lockwood observes young Catherine teaching Hareton Earnshaw to read, their heads bent together over a book. The sight of their obvious affection makes him regret never having pursued Catherine himself. Slipping around to the kitchen, he finds Nelly, who reveals the astonishing news that Heathcliff died three months earlier. Over ale, Nelly settles in to tell Lockwood the story of everything that has happened since he left.
Catherine and Hareton's Reconciliation
Nelly recounts how she was summoned to the Heights after Zillah departed, and how Heathcliff wanted Catherine kept out of his sight. Confined to the house and garden, Catherine grew restless and began tormenting Hareton with remarks about his ignorance. She had previously mocked his attempts to teach himself to read, causing him to burn his books in shame. Now she tried to make amends by reading aloud when he was near and leaving books out for him, but he stubbornly refused every overture.
The turning point comes when Hareton injures his arm in a hunting accident and is confined to the kitchen. On Easter Monday, with Joseph away at the Gimmerton fair, Catherine finally breaks through Hareton's defenses. She confesses she wants him as her cousin and friend, apologizes for her cruelty, and when he refuses to shake hands or even look at her, she kisses his cheek. She then wraps a handsome book as a gift and offers to teach him to read. Hareton at last accepts, and the two sit together, heads touching, studying the pictures. Their reconciliation is sealed, and Nelly declares them "thenceforth, sworn allies."
Analysis
Chapter 32 marks a decisive shift in the novel's emotional landscape. The physical transformation of Wuthering Heights — unlocked gates, open doors, fragrant flowers transplanted from Thrushcross Grange — mirrors the emotional transformation happening within. Where doors and windows have throughout the novel symbolized barriers, imprisonment, and social isolation, here they stand wide open, signaling that the cycles of cruelty and revenge are finally breaking.
The reconciliation between Catherine and Hareton deliberately reverses the tragedy of the previous generation. Just as Hindley once degraded Heathcliff by denying him education, Heathcliff has degraded Hareton the same way. But where the older generation responded with revenge and destruction, the younger generation chooses forgiveness. Catherine’s gift of a book and her offer to teach Hareton to read directly undo the damage of the past. Their blending hair — her light ringlets against his brown locks — symbolizes the merging of the Grange and Heights bloodlines that will finally heal both families.
Books and literacy serve as the chapter’s central symbol. Hareton’s burned books represent the destruction of hope through cruelty and shame; Catherine’s wrapped gift represents hope restored through patience and humility. Nelly’s closing declaration that their union will be "the crown of all my wishes" signals the novel’s movement toward resolution and domestic peace.