Wuthering Heights Chapter 2 Summary

Summary

Mr. Lockwood sets out from Thrushcross Grange in misty, cold weather to visit Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights; after encountering inattentive servants and being unable to get the door opened, he jumps the garden chain and finally gains admission through the yard. Inside, he meets a small group gathered around a large fire: Heathcliff, a young coarse-looking man (Hareton Earnshaw), a silent, beautiful young woman introduced as Mrs. Heathcliff (later clarified as Heathcliff’s daughter-in-law), the pious, vinegar-faced Joseph, and the housewife Zillah. The household is unfriendly and taciturn; Lockwood’s attempts at polite conversation are met with scorn, sarcasm, and cold indifference.

After a spare meal in awkward silence, Lockwood learns there are no proper guides to the Grange and that he cannot easily get home because the snow thickens. He tries to secure a guide or hospitality but is insulted by Heathcliff, mocked by Hareton, and roughly handled by the dogs as he attempts to leave. Zillah intervenes, rescues Lockwood from the dogs, gives him brandy, and puts him to bed. He is compelled to accept lodgings under Heathcliff’s roof for the night, despite the household’s harsh manners and the unsettled atmosphere.

Key events

1. Lockwood arrives at Wuthering Heights during a snowstorm and finds the door barred.
2. Joseph and other household members delay admitting him; he climbs over and enters through the yard.
3. Inside, Lockwood meets Heathcliff, Hareton, Mrs. Heathcliff, Joseph, and Zillah; conversation is cold and hostile.
4. Heathcliff reveals Mrs. Heathcliff is his daughter-in-law; Hareton announces himself with rough dignity.
5. Lockwood realizes he cannot safely return to the Grange because of the storm and is refused a guide.
6. Dogs pin Lockwood down in the yard; Zillah rescues him, gives brandy, and puts him to bed at Wuthering Heights.

Analysis

This chapter establishes Wuthering Heights as an inhospitable, claustrophobic setting and deepens the novel’s atmosphere of social antagonism. Through Lockwood’s outsider perspective, Brontë stages a series of cold interactions that reveal family tensions and class friction: Heathcliff’s sarcasm and authority, Hareton’s physical roughness and defensive pride, Joseph’s sanctimonious malice, and Mrs. Heathcliff’s paradoxical combination of beauty and bitter reserve. The narrative keeps Lockwood as a self-conscious, naïve observer whose polite society assumptions repeatedly misfire—his comic misreadings (about marital relations and status) expose both his own vanity and the household’s estrangement from conventional civility.

Structurally, the chapter prolongs narrative suspense by withholding clear familial explanations while supplying telling details (Hareton’s coarse manners, Mrs. Heathcliff’s youth and scornful gaze) that foreshadow complicated family dynamics. The physical storm mirrors the emotional chill inside the house, using weather as symbolic reinforcement of isolation. Brontë’s technique of embedding sharp dialogue and vivid description within Lockwood’s subjective narration creates ironic distance: readers see both Lockwood’s pretensions and the household’s hostility. The episode with the dogs and Lockwood’s forced lodging also signals the inversion of guest/host norms and prepares the reader to view Wuthering Heights as a place where social codes are distorted and violence simmers beneath domestic routine.

Important quotes

“You are the proper person to ask me.”

Mr. LockwoodLockwood replies to Mrs. Heathcliff’s question about who invited him and assumes a patronizing role that she brusquely rebuffs.

““My amiable lady!” he interrupted, with an almost diabolical sneer on his face.”

NarratorLockwood’s attempt at flattery toward Mrs. Heathcliff is cut short by Heathcliff’s sneering cynicism, revealing his bitter temperament.

““I can sleep on a chair in this room,” I replied.”

Mr. LockwoodFaced with Heathcliff’s refusal to provide a guide or comfortable accommodation, Lockwood offers to remain in the room—only to be later compelled to take a bed.

Characters in Chapter 2

• Mr. Lockwood
• Heathcliff
• Hareton Earnshaw
• Mrs. Heathcliff
• Joseph
• Zillah
• Hindley Earnshaw