Book Anatomy · Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights: Openings and endings
13 lenses on openings and endings for Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13
F1. First line and first paragraph: what each does. Both
The first full paragraph runs to 116 words and 7 sentences.
1801—I have just returned from a visit to my landlord—the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. (Ch 1, para 1)
The first paragraph establishes Lockwood's voice, his isolation, and his misanthropy. It introduces Heathcliff as a 'capital fellow' and sets the tone of ironic observation. The opening question 'This is certainly a beautiful country!' frames the desolate moors as the story's setting.
Chapters: Ch 1
A perfect misanthropist’s Heaven—and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us. (Ch 1, para 1)
It is astonishing how sociable I feel myself compared with him. (Ch 1, para 27)
F2. What the first page sets up: voice, world, question. AI
The first page establishes a first-person narrator arriving at a remote estate, introduces Heathcliff as mysterious and hostile, and poses the question: who is this man and what is his story? The gothic atmosphere of isolation and hostility is immediate.
Chapters: Ch 1
A perfect misanthropist’s Heaven—and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us. (Ch 1, para 1)
He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire (Ch 1, para 13)
The tone in which the words were said revealed a genuine bad nature. I no longer felt inclined to call Heathcliff a capital fellow. (Ch 2, para 37)
F3. How many words before the lead appears? Count
First dialogue after 116 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F4. How many words before the first line of dialogue? Count
First dialogue after 116 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F5. The hook of chapter one. AI
Chapter 1's hook is Lockwood's attack by dogs and his poor first impression of Heathcliff, combined with the mysterious household and Heathcliff's cold hostility. The reader wants to know why Heathcliff is so unwelcoming and what secrets the house holds.
Chapters: Ch 1
He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire (Ch 1, para 13)
The tone in which the words were said revealed a genuine bad nature. I no longer felt inclined to call Heathcliff a capital fellow. (Ch 2, para 37)
hatless and trembling with wrath, I ordered the miscreants to let me out—on their peril to keep me one minute longer (Ch 2, para 87)
F6. Prologue: its job and its length. Both
No prologue: the book starts in its first chapter.
Not a feature of this book. The novel begins directly with Lockwood's arrival in 1801, with no separate prologue. The framing narrative itself serves the function of a prologue by establishing the mystery.
F7. How fast is the main story question posed? AI
The main story question is posed immediately in chapter 1: who is Heathcliff and why is he so hostile? Chapter 3 deepens it with Catherine's ghost and Heathcliff's anguish. Chapter 4 begins the answer when Nelly agrees to tell his history.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 4
A perfect misanthropist’s Heaven—and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us. (Ch 1, para 1)
Come in! come in!” he sobbed. “Cathy, do come. Oh, do—once more! Oh! my heart’s darling! hear me this time, Catherine, at last! (Ch 3, para 54)
F8. Final chapter: which beats resolve what. AI
Chapter 34 resolves Heathcliff's death and obsession, Catherine and Hareton's love, and the cycle of revenge ending. It ties the frame narrative closed with Lockwood's final visit. The supernatural rumours about Heathcliff's ghost remain unresolved, leaving ambiguity.
Chapters: Ch 34
Last night I was on the threshold of hell. To-day, I am within sight of my heaven. (Ch 34, para 26)
F9. Last line: what it leaves in the mind. Both
The last full paragraph runs to 43 words.
I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth. (Ch 34, para 84)
The last line describes Lockwood lingering by the graves, watching moths and listening to wind, wondering how anyone could imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers. It suggests peace and closure, contrasting with the book's violence and obsession.
Chapters: Ch 34
F10. Loose ends tied and left open. AI
The book ties up Heathcliff's death, Catherine and Hareton's love, and the property transfers. It leaves open whether Heathcliff's ghost truly haunts the moors, whether Catherine Earnshaw's spirit found peace, and the exact nature of Heathcliff's final visions.
Chapters: Ch 34
Last night I was on the threshold of hell. To-day, I am within sight of my heaven. (Ch 34, para 26)
F11. Epilogue: its job. Both
No chapter called an epilogue. The last chapter is 4,413 words.
The final chapter serves as epilogue, showing Catherine and Hareton's happiness and Heathcliff's mysterious death. Lockwood's departure and Nelly's hope for their wedding provide closure. The supernatural rumours add a final gothic note.
Chapters: Ch 34
The crown of all my wishes will be the union of those two. I shall envy no one on their wedding day: there won’t be a happier woman than myself in England! (Ch 32, para 86)
F12. Echoes between the opening and the ending. AI
The opening presents Lockwood as a misanthrope finding Heathcliff a suitable companion in desolation. The ending shows Lockwood leaving as Catherine and Hareton find love and redemption. The moors remain isolated but now offer hope rather than despair.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 34
A perfect misanthropist’s Heaven—and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us. (Ch 1, para 1)
The crown of all my wishes will be the union of those two. I shall envy no one on their wedding day: there won’t be a happier woman than myself in England! (Ch 32, para 86)
F13. Length of the wind down after the climax. Count
After the climax (chapter 33, our reading) the book runs 4,413 more words, 3.8% of the whole.
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