Dog bite at Thrushcross Grange

The dog bite at Thrushcross Grange marks a decisive turning point in the early lives of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, forcibly introducing them to the world of the Lintons and setting in motion the social and romantic divisions that will shape the rest of the novel. What begins as a rebellious nighttime ramble ends with Catherine injured and taken into the Grange, Heathcliff humiliated and expelled, and the two children separated for five weeks—a separation that fundamentally alters Catherine's manners, appearance, and sense of self, while deepening Heathcliff's sense of inferiority and rage.

Causes and Background

One Sunday evening, Catherine and Heathcliff, banished from the sitting-room for making a noise, escape from the wash-house to ramble freely on the moors. Seeing the lights of Thrushcross Grange in the distance, they decide to investigate how the Linton children spend their Sunday evenings, contrasting their own harsh treatment with the imagined comforts of the Grange. They run from the top of the Heights to the park without stopping, Catherine completely beaten in the race because she is barefoot—her shoes are lost in the bog. They creep through a broken hedge, grope their way up the path, and plant themselves on a flower-plot under the drawing-room window, where they look in and see Edgar Linton and Isabella Linton quarreling over a little dog, pulling it nearly in two between them. Heathcliff and Catherine laugh outright at the "petted things," despising them for their childish squabbling. Their laughter is heard, and the Lintons raise an alarm.

What Happens

As Heathcliff and Catherine drop off the ledge and try to flee, the Lintons let loose the bulldog Skulker, who seizes Catherine by the ankle. Heathcliff hears the dog's "abominable snorting" and tries to force a stone between its jaws, but a servant arrives with a lantern, shouting "Keep fast, Skulker, keep fast!" The dog is throttled off, its "huge, purple tongue hanging half a foot out of his mouth, and his pendent lips streaming with bloody slaver." The man carries Catherine inside; she is sick, not from fear but from pain. Heathcliff follows, grumbling execrations and vengeance. Mr. Linton, the magistrate, mistakes them for thieves and orders the servant to take Heathcliff away. Heathcliff refuses to go without Catherine, but he is dragged into the garden, pushed out, and the door secured against him. He resumes his station as a spy at the window, watching as Mrs. Linton takes off Catherine's borrowed cloak, the servant washes her feet, Mr. Linton mixes a tumbler of negus, and Isabella empties a plateful of cakes into her lap. Catherine sits on the sofa, dividing her food between the little dog and Skulker, pinching the bulldog's nose as he eats, and kindling "a spark of spirit in the vacant blue eyes of the Lintons." Heathcliff sees that she is "as merry as she could be" and leaves her there, convinced of her immeasurable superiority to everyone on earth.

Consequences and Aftermath

Catherine stays at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks, until Christmas. By that time her ankle is thoroughly cured and her manners much improved. Mrs. Linton visits her often and begins a plan of reform, raising her self-respect with fine clothes and flattery. When Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights, she arrives not as a "wild, hatless little savage" but as a "very dignified person" with brown ringlets, a feathered beaver hat, and a long cloth habit. She kisses Nelly gently, dares hardly touch the dogs for fear they should fawn upon her splendid garments, and looks round for Heathcliff. Heathcliff, who has become even more neglected and dirty during her absence, skulks behind the settle, ashamed of his appearance. When Catherine embraces him and laughs at his "very black and cross" look, he is deeply wounded, declaring he will not stand to be laughed at. He dashes out of the room, and the rift between them—already opened by the events at the Grange—widens into a lasting wound. The adventure also provokes Mr. Linton to lecture Hindley Earnshaw on his governance of the family, leading to stricter rules: Heathcliff is told that the first word he speaks to Catherine will ensure his dismissal, and Mrs. Earnshaw undertakes to keep her sister-in-law in due restraint. The dog bite thus becomes the catalyst for Catherine's social ascent and Heathcliff's degradation, the moment when the two worlds—the wild freedom of the Heights and the polished refinement of the Grange—first collide with lasting consequences.