Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Earnshaw family
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Heathcliff and Catherine in the 1992 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights family tree Catherine and Heathcliff in the 2026 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights Heathcliff and Catherine in the 1939 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Heathcliff and Catherine in the 1992 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights
Heathcliff and Catherine in the 1992 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche as Catherine in a scene from the 1992 film Wuthering Heights, directed by Peter Kosminsky and adapted from the novel by Emily Brontë.

Earnshaw family

fictional family
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

The Earnshaw family is a fictional family in English author Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights (1847). They are the sponsors of the foundling Heathcliff, a child of unknown origin who Mr. Earnshaw finds on the streets of Liverpool and who forms an intense bond with the Earnshaws’ daughter, Catherine. The Earnshaws’ remote Yorkshire estate, Wuthering Heights, gives the book its title.

The first generation of the family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw and their son, Hindley, and daughter, Catherine (Cathy). Whereas Hindley abuses Heathcliff and treats him like a servant, Catherine grows close to the newcomer. It is the frustrated love between Catherine and Heathcliff that propels the plot of the novel. Despite their similar stormy nature and inseparability while young (leading to Catherine’s immortal line, “I am Heathcliff”), she marries Edgar Linton, the son of a neighboring family. Unlike Heathcliff, Edgar can be expected to provide Catherine with the comforts to which she is accustomed. Her plan to marry Edgar, and an overheard conversation in which she remarks that marrying Heathcliff would “degrade” her, propels Heathcliff to flee Wuthering Heights.

Wuthering Heights family tree
Wuthering Heights family treeA family tree of the characters of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights (1847).

Catherine and Edgar have one child, a daughter also named Cathy. Shortly after giving birth, Catherine dies. Meanwhile, Hindley Earnshaw marries a woman named Frances, with whom he has a son, Hareton. Hindley is eventually widowed and sinks into alcoholism and reckless gambling. Enacting a long revenge plot on the Earnshaws and Lintons, Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights, having made his fortune, and takes possession of the estate. After Hindley’s death, he reduces the robust young Hareton to the status of a servant and orchestrates a love match between Cathy and his sickly son, Linton Heathcliff. Peace is restored among the second generation of Earnshaws and Lintons after Heathcliff’s death.

List of actresses who have played Catherine Earnshaw

Catherine and Heathcliff in the 2026 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights
1 of 2
Catherine and Heathcliff in the 2026 film adaptation of Wuthering HeightsMargot Robbie as Catherine and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in a scene from the 2026 film Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell and adapted from the novel by Emily Brontë.
Heathcliff and Catherine in the 1939 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights
2 of 2
Heathcliff and Catherine in the 1939 film adaptation of Wuthering HeightsLaurence Olivier as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Catherine in a scene from the 1939 film Wuthering Heights, directed by William Wyler and adapted from the novel by Emily Brontë.

One of the great heroines of English literature, Catherine Earnshaw has been portrayed by the following actresses in film and television adaptations of Wuthering Heights.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by René Ostberg.