Joseph and the Old Order

Follows the house servant Joseph as the guardian of the Earnshaws' Calvinist and hierarchical world, and his long accommodation to the usurper.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Pious Tyrant

The Self-Righteous Servant A Religion of Curses Joseph is an old, sour-faced servant who reads his Bible not for comfort but for ammunition, heaping damnation on the children while flattering the master. Nelly describes him as the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible. Keeper of the Old Ways Joseph polices the household's morals, drags the children through three-hour sermons, and frames their smallest mischief as diabolical rebellion. His authority fills the vacuum left by the ailing Mr. Earnshaw and prepares the ground for Hindley's tyranny.

The Watching Eye

An Old Enemy of Joy Faith and Itching Ears Joseph reports Catherine's and Heathcliff's misdeeds to Hindley, supplies the punishments, and takes a grim delight in every sign of their wickedness. His religion grants him endless occasions to reprove others while exempting himself. A Loyalty to the House Despite his harshness, Joseph remains the one servant who never abandons Wuthering Heights, staying through Hindley's ruin and Heathcliff's rise. His constancy is less love than stubbornness, a refusal to surrender his place in the hierarchy.

Under the Usurper

A Master Changed The Servant Bends Joseph, who once treated Heathcliff as a vagabond and devil, now serves him without resistance, though he mutters curses behind his back. He transfers his flattery to Hareton as the head of the old family, feeding the boy's pride of name while Heathcliff strips him of everything else. The Old Man's Hope Joseph's narrow piety finds comfort in the belief that God will require Hareton's soul at Heathcliff's hands. He watches the master's self-destruction with the patience of a man who trusts that providence will eventually set the world upright.

The Ghost-Seer's Witness

Two at the Window A Legend in the Making Joseph, left to mind the great empty house, affirms that he has seen two figures looking out of the chamber window on every rainy night since Heathcliff's death. The old servant who once dismissed ghosts now provides the final testimony of the haunting. The House That Remains The ancient man will live on in the kitchen with a lad for company while Hareton and Cathy move to the Grange. He is the last living relic of the Earnshaw order, guarding a house that has become a monument to its own stormy past.

the childhood years at Wuthering Heights

the years of Catherine and Heathcliff's adolescence

the years of Heathcliff's mastery, after Hindley's death

after Heathcliff's death, autumn 1802