Heathcliff starves to death

Heathcliff starves to death in the spring of 1802, an event that is less a physical decline than a willed, ecstatic surrender to the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw. His final days are marked by a profound detachment from the material world, a refusal to eat, and a fixed, joyful gaze upon an invisible presence. The death is the logical, almost ritualistic, conclusion of a life that had been, since Catherine's own death, a protracted act of mourning and haunting.

The Final Decline

In the weeks before his death, Heathcliff undergoes a dramatic transformation. He becomes increasingly reclusive, shunning the company of Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine Linton, and refusing to eat. Nelly Dean observes that he "hardly remember[s] to eat and drink," and that his daily life holds so little interest that he must remind himself to breathe. He tells Nelly that he is "in the shadow" of a strange change, and that his soul's bliss is killing his body. He begins to sleep in the oak-panelled bed that once belonged to Catherine, and his behavior becomes erratic: he paces the floor, mutters to himself, and is seen with a "strange joyful glitter in his eyes" that alters his entire aspect. He confesses to Nelly that he has a single wish, and that his whole being is yearning to attain it, and that he is convinced it will be reached soon because it has devoured his existence.

The Vision and the Fast

Heathcliff's final days are characterized by a state of intense, visionary anticipation. He tells Nelly that he has been on "the threshold of hell" but is now "within sight of my heaven," with only "hardly three feet to sever me." He stares fixedly at a spot in the room, as if seeing something that gives him both "pleasure and pain in exquisite extremes." He refuses all food, and when Nelly tries to get him to eat, he is unable to lift his hand to his mouth. He claims that his inability to eat or rest is not a deliberate act, but a consequence of his overwhelming desire to reach his goal, comparing himself to a man struggling in the water who cannot rest until he reaches the shore. He insists that he is "too happy" but not yet happy enough, and that his soul's bliss is killing his body without satisfying itself.

The Corpse and the Aftermath

Heathcliff is found dead in his bed by Nelly Dean. His body is laid on his back, his eyes open and fixed in a "frightful, life-like gaze of exultation." His face and throat are wet from rain that has blown in through an open lattice, and his hand is grazed by the flapping window. Nelly tries to close his eyes, but they will not shut, and his parted lips and sharp white teeth seem to sneer at her attempts. Joseph, the servant, declares that "the devil's harried off his soul" and that Heathcliff looks like a "wicked 'un," grinning at death. Hareton Earnshaw, the most wronged by Heathcliff, is the only one who truly mourns, sitting by the corpse all night, weeping, pressing its hand, and kissing the sarcastic, savage face that everyone else shrank from.

Burial and Legend

Heathcliff is buried according to his own wishes, in the churchyard on a green slope, next to Catherine Earnshaw. The funeral is a small, scandalous affair, attended only by Hareton, Nelly, the sexton, and six bearers. Hareton himself digs the green sods and lays them over the grave. Despite the quiet burial, local folklore soon claims that Heathcliff walks. A little boy reports seeing "Heathcliff and a woman yonder, under t' nab," and an old man by the kitchen fire swears he has seen two figures looking out of the chamber window on every rainy night since his death. Nelly Dean, though she dismisses the tales as idle, admits she does not like being out in the dark or left alone in the grim house.

Thematic Significance

Heathcliff's death is the final, paradoxical triumph of his obsessive love. He does not die of a broken heart, but of a soul that has, in its yearning, consumed the body. His end is not a defeat but a consummation, a willed crossing of the threshold into the world of the dead where he believes Catherine awaits him. The open, staring eyes and the smile of exultation on his corpse suggest that in his final moment, he achieved the reunion he had sought for eighteen years. His death, like his life, is a testament to the power of a love that transcends the boundaries of life and death, sanity and madness, and ultimately, the human itself.