Wuthering Heights - Chapter 15
Heathcliffs_Madness
As spring turned to summer, Heathcliff's condition worsened. He barely ate, and he could not sleep. He spent his nights wandering the moors, searching for Catherine's ghost.
He began to see Catherine everywhere. In the wind, he heard her voice. In the shadows, he saw her face. He spoke to her, as if she were standing beside him.
Mrs. Dean tried to take care of him, but he refused to eat. He told her that he was not hungry, that he only wanted to be with Catherine.
One night, he did not return to the house at all. Mrs. Dean and Cathy searched for him everywhere, but they could not find him. The next morning, he returned, pale and exhausted.
'I saw her,' he said, his eyes shining with madness. 'She was waiting for me by the old grave.'
Mrs. Dean was worried. Heathcliff was not well. His mind was breaking under the weight of his grief and guilt.
Cathy watched him with a mixture of fear and pity. She had grown up hearing stories about the evil Heathcliff, but now she saw a broken, suffering man. She began to understand that his cruelty had come from his own pain and his inability to let go of the past.
Hareton, too, felt sorry for Heathcliff. Despite everything Heathcliff had done to him, Hareton could not hate the old man completely. He saw that Heathcliff was tormented by his memories of Catherine.
As the summer passed, Heathcliff became weaker and weaker. He could no longer work in the fields or manage the estate. Cathy and Hareton took over the work, running Wuthering Heights together.
Heathcliff spent his days in his room, staring out the window at the moors. He spoke of nothing but Catherine, and he refused to see anyone except Mrs. Dean.
Mrs. Dean knew that the end was near. She prayed that Heathcliff would find peace before he died.