Joseph

Joseph is the elderly, pious, and perpetually sour-tempered servant at Wuthering Heights, whose self-righteous religious fanaticism and fierce loyalty to the Earnshaw lineage make him a constant, judgmental presence across two generations of the household. He functions as a grim chorus, interpreting every event through a lens of damnation and divine punishment, and his narrow-mindedness contributes directly to the misery of the children in his care.

Identity and Background

Joseph is introduced as "an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy," who greets the new tenant Lockwood with a face so sour that Lockwood charitably conjectures he must need divine aid to digest his dinner. He is the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses to his neighbours, according to Nelly Dean. His piety is a weapon: he sermonises and discourses piously, and by this knack he contrived to make a great impression on old Mr. Earnshaw, especially as the master grew feeble. Joseph's influence encouraged Mr. Earnshaw to regard Hindley as a reprobate, and night after night he grumbled out a long string of tales against Heathcliff and Catherine, always minding to flatter Earnshaw's weakness by heaping the heaviest blame on the latter.

Role in the Household and Religious Tyranny

Joseph enforces a harsh, joyless Sabbath. On a rainy Sunday, when Hindley and his wife basked downstairs before a comfortable fire, Joseph commanded Heathcliff, Catherine, and the unhappy ploughboy to take their prayer-books and mount to the garret, where they were ranged in a row on a sack of corn, groaning and shivering through a service that lasted precisely three hours. When Catherine and Heathcliff rebelled by hurling their religious books into the dog-kennel, Joseph raised the alarm, shouting that Miss Cathy had riven the back off 'The Helmet of Salvation' and Heathcliff had put his foot into the first part of 'The Broad Way to Destruction,' and declaring it was fair flaysome that Hindley let them go on that gait. He remained at Wuthering Heights after Hindley's descent into dissipation, when the curate dropped calling and nobody decent came near, because it was his vocation to be where he had plenty of wickedness to reprove.

Relationship with Hareton and the Earnshaw Legacy

Joseph contributed much to Hareton's deterioration by a narrow-minded partiality that prompted him to flatter and pet the boy as the head of the old family. He laid the whole burden of Hareton's faults on the shoulders of the usurper of his property, Heathcliff, and if the lad swore, Joseph would not correct him. It gave Joseph satisfaction to watch Hareton go the worst lengths, reflecting that Heathcliff must answer for it and that Hareton's blood would be required at his hands. He instilled into Hareton a pride of name and lineage, but confined his feelings regarding Heathcliff to muttered innuendoes and private comminations, his dread of the owner amounting to superstition.

Confrontations with the Younger Generation

Joseph's authority is repeatedly challenged by the younger Catherine. When she first arrives at Wuthering Heights as a bride, he greets her with a courtesy that redounds to his credit: his first act is to elevate his torch to a level with her face, squint malignantly, project his under-lip, and turn away. Later, when Catherine, now a widow, descends from her room, Joseph and Hareton go to chapel on Sundays, and Joseph is horrified to find Catherine seated on the same bench with Hareton, leaning her hand on his shoulder. His emotion is revealed only by immense sighs as he solemnly spreads his large Bible on the table. When Catherine and Hareton begin to garden together, Joseph complains bitterly that she has taken his garden from him, declaring he would rather earn his bite and his sup with a hammer in the road than bear it.

Final Years and Death of Heathcliff

After Heathcliff's death, Joseph shuffles up and makes a noise, but resolutely refuses to meddle with the corpse, crying that the devil has harried off his soul and he may have his carcass into the bargain. He falls on his knees and raises his hands, returning thanks that the lawful master and the ancient stock are restored to their rights. He remains in the house after Hareton and Catherine marry and move to Thrushcross Grange, taking care of the house with perhaps a lad to keep him company, living in the kitchen while the rest is shut up.