Wuthering Heights - Chapter 6
Heathcliffs_Return
Three years after Heathcliff disappeared, he returned to Wuthering Heights. He had changed completely. He was no longer the dirty, uneducated boy. He was now a tall, handsome gentleman, well-dressed and wealthy.
Catherine was overjoyed to see him. She ran to greet him and threw her arms around him. Edgar Linton was less pleased. He felt uncomfortable with Heathcliff's dark, intense presence.
Heathcliff did not explain where he had been or how he had become wealthy. He rented a room from Hindley and began to spend time at Wuthering Heights. Hindley, who had been drinking heavily, welcomed him as a tenant, not recognizing the servant boy he had abused years before.
Heathcliff was polite to everyone, but Mrs. Dean could see the cold anger in his eyes. He had returned for one purpose: to take revenge on Hindley and to win back Catherine's love.
He began to gamble with Hindley, winning large amounts of money. Hindley drank more and more, losing control of his finances. Heathcliff gradually took possession of Wuthering Heights, paying Hindley's debts and becoming the real master of the house.
Young Hareton, Hindley's son, was now six years old. Heathcliff treated him with contempt, remembering how Hindley had treated him as a child. He refused to let the boy go to school and made him work as a servant, just as Hindley had once made Heathcliff work.
Mrs. Dean was worried about everyone. She saw the evil in Heathcliff's heart, but she was powerless to stop him. She watched as he destroyed the lives of those who had once wronged him, careful and patient, like a spider weaving its web.
Catherine, caught between her husband and her first love, became increasingly unhappy. She tried to be kind to both men, but their hatred for each other made this impossible. The tension at Thrushcross Grange grew unbearable.