Wuthering Heights

The extract takes place when Heathcliff has just found out that Catherine had died during childbirth. Before she actually died, Catherine had started to become weaker whilst carry Linton's baby. One can foreshadow this by her feeling unwell and ill, also as she was a rather weak child growing up. Heathcliff, although he may not directly admit it loves Catherine and is extremely angry with her for leaving him alone in life.

It starts with Nelly thinking "poor wretch!" in reference Heathcliff, this shows that she feels sorry for Heathcliff and is compassionate towards him. The exclamation mark is used by Bronte to show that the phrase is an interjection and is said with feeling (i.e.: means it) rather than just as a phrase.

In the next part of the extract, Nelly describes what Catherine was going through just before she passed away. "Quietly as a lamb!" is how she starts her description of the event, she compares Catherine to a lamb. The comparison makes the reader feel sorry for her, as lambs are normally very innocent animals with soft wool and do nothing to harm others. Throughout the rest of the description Nelly uses words that make Catherine seem like a child, she says "like a child" and "little pulse". The mood throughout this passage is very heartrending and readers are made to feel sympathetic towards Catherine. The references comparing Catherine to a child just elaborate on the theme of sympathy as a character made out to be young or childlike is always more cared for and when passing away readers are significantly more mournful.

Heathcliff replies with "And-did she ever mention me?". The hyphen used in this phrase exemplifies the fact that Heathcliff hesitated when asking this question. Heathcliff hesitated because he did not want to know the answer to his question, the answer would show if Catherine truly cared for Heathcliff or not, a person only speaks to or about those they really care about on their deathbed. Heathcliff shows small amounts fear and nervousness through his response and that can be linked to the central theme of the extract, which is gloomy and depressing.

Nelly tells a tense Heathcliff that Catherine never regained her senses from the time that he last saw her. This could be interpreted in a number of ways, one is that Catherine didn't want to recognize anyone else apart from Heathcliff and that she purposely didn't respond to anyone else as she was thinking about him. Nelly then tells Heathcliff that she lies with a sweet smile on her face and her life closed in a gentle dream. This shows that Catherine died in a happy place and was not in pain or anguish when she died. Nelly then brings in the theme of religion when she says, "may she wake kindly in the other world". This means that Nelly believes that Catherine went to heaven and is happy there.