Hindley Earnshaw and Frances Earnshaw's marriage

The marriage of Hindley Earnshaw and Frances Earnshaw is a pivotal but short-lived union that transforms the master of Wuthering Heights from a resentful young man into a tyrannical drunkard, setting the stage for the novel's central conflicts. Frances, a woman of obscure origins brought home without warning after Mr. Earnshaw's funeral, initially brings a fragile gaiety to the house, but her consumption and death within two years shatter Hindley, unleashing a cycle of abuse and neglect that warps the lives of everyone around him.

Identity and Introduction

Hindley Earnshaw, the son of Mr. Earnshaw and the elder brother of Catherine Earnshaw, returns home for his father's funeral after three years away, bringing with him a wife whom no one in the household had ever heard of. Nelly Dean, the housekeeper, notes that the neighbors gossiped about the mystery, and that Hindley likely kept the union secret because Frances had "neither money nor name to recommend her." Frances is described as thin, young, fresh-complexioned, with eyes that sparkle like diamonds, but she is also nervous and hysterical: she shivers at the sight of black, trembles at sudden noises, and coughs troublesomely. Nelly, who initially thinks her "half silly," fails to recognize these symptoms as signs of the consumption that will soon kill her.

Life at Wuthering Heights

Frances initially brings a brief period of cheerfulness to Wuthering Heights. She delights in the white floor, the huge glowing fireplace, and the pewter dishes, and she prattles to Catherine, kisses her, and gives her presents. However, her affection for Catherine quickly tires, and when she grows peevish, Hindley becomes tyrannical. A few words from Frances expressing a dislike for Heathcliff are enough to reawaken Hindley's old hatred, and he drives Heathcliff from their company to the servants, deprives him of the curate's instruction, and forces him to labor outdoors. Frances herself, though she does not live long enough to become a major actor, thus becomes the catalyst for the formal degradation of Heathcliff that defines his childhood.

The Birth of Hareton and Frances's Death

On a fine June day, Frances gives birth to a son, Hareton Earnshaw. The doctor, Kenneth, pronounces that she has been in a consumption for many months and will die before winter. Hindley, however, refuses to accept the diagnosis, insisting that she is perfectly well and that her pulse is as slow as his own. He tells his wife the same story, and she seems to believe him. But one night, as she leans on his shoulder saying she thinks she will be able to get up tomorrow, a slight fit of coughing takes her; he raises her in his arms, she puts her hands about his neck, her face changes, and she is dead. Her death leaves Hindley utterly broken: he neither weeps nor prays, but curses and defies God and man, giving himself up to reckless dissipation.

Consequences and Aftermath

Frances's death transforms Hindley into a brutal, drunken tyrant. He grows desperate, and his bad ways and bad companions form a "pretty example" for Catherine and Heathcliff. His treatment of Heathcliff becomes so vicious that Nelly says it would "make a fiend of a saint." Hindley's grief and rage are directed not only at Heathcliff but also at his own son, Hareton, whom he nearly kills in a drunken rage by dangling him over the banister. The household descends into an "infernal" state: the curate stops calling, no decent people visit, and only Joseph and Nelly remain as servants. Hindley's descent into alcoholism and gambling eventually leads him to mortgage every yard of his land to Heathcliff, who becomes the master of Wuthering Heights after Hindley's death, leaving Hareton a beggar in his own home. Frances's brief, ill-fated marriage thus sets in motion the destruction of the Earnshaw line and the rise of Heathcliff's revenge.