Mr Linton's will (WH)

[kev67]

Heathcliff's long act of revenge on Edgar Linton depends on him getting control of his house, Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff marries Issabella Linton who is next in line to inherit if her brother Edgar dies. According to chapter XXI, Heathcliff tells Nelly that he hopes his son Linton marries Edgar's daughter Cathy so that they will inherit Thrushcross Grange. Nelly says that if Linton dies, Cathy would inherit. Heathcliff contradicts her, saying there was no clause in the will to secure it so the property would go to him, being Issabella's widower. This seems very strange:


Heathcliff has told Nelly twice that he intends to get hold of Thrushcross Grange, why hasn't she passed on this information to Edgar Linton?
In whose will is the inheritance of Thrushcross Grange set out?
Edgar Linton is the owner of the property, so why can't he change the will?
Isn't the succession a bit unusual? Normally the property would go to the oldest male heir, but if the owner only had a daughter, it would go to her not the sister.
Since Edgar Linton would surely detest the idea of Heathcliff getting hold of his property, why doesn't he remarry and try for a son?
How is it that Heathcliff seems to know the particulars of the will, but Edgar Linton does not? Edgar seems oblivious to it.
If the property would come to Heathcliff in the event of Edgar Linton's death, why does he even care whether his son Linton Heathcliff marries Cathy Linton?
This plot of revenge by Heathcliff is a very long game. Surely there is a lot that can go wrong.



The property inheritance right reminds me of Pride and Prejudice, in which the plot partly depends on the fact that the family home will be passed to the next male heir when the father dies, leaving them potentially homeless. However, unfair as that is, it sounds more customary for the time. What gave these property inheritance rights their legal force?

[kiki1982]

Heathcliff's long act of revenge on Edgar Linton depends on him getting control of his house, Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff marries Issabella Linton who is next in line to inherit if her brother Edgar dies. According to chapter XXI, Heathcliff tells Nelly that he hopes his son Linton marries Edgar's daughter Cathy so that they will inherit Thrushcross Grange. Nelly says that if Linton dies, Cathy would inherit. Heathcliff contradicts her, saying there was no clause in the will to secure it so the property would go to him, being Issabella's widower. This seems very strange.

Well, if Edgar did not explicitly nominate his daughter to inherit everything, then indeed, it would have gone to the eldest male heir. Even if she inherited, her property would have become her husbnad Linton's personal possession. But assume for a minute that Edgar was an only son (that's what it looks like) and his father too (that's also what it looks like if you take into account Heathcliff's assumption), then the closest you could get to a male heir is a son of a son of a bother of Edgar's grandfather or something. It looks like there are no Linton males in the wide surroundings to be found. If Heathcliff is so very very sure about what's going to happen, he must have done something while he was away those three years... Guess what... He's looked in all the registers, looking for Linton relatives and found none. If therefore, indeed, there are no Lintons left, he, as the widower of Linton's sister, will be the oldest male heir (if the only one) and he will inherit, naturally.

That part of the plot is a bit similar to The Count too, although he comes across an icky story about Villefort rather by accident. Nice stury it is, though :D.


Heathcliff has told Nelly twice that he intends to get hold of Thrushcross Grange, why hasn't she passed on this information to Edgar Linton?

That's a good point. Who says she didn't, though? Lockwood is not saying she did, but neither that she didn't.

In whose will is the inheritance of Thrushcross Grange set out?

I would think it is either by custom (without will per se, but the normal process). Apparently you could change this by making a custom will of your own, but I also have the impression that certain things could be determined two generations before. If Mr Bennet had been able to change the entailment his father put on Longbourn when he saw he would only have daughters, he would have done so. He obviously couldn't. The same problem presents itself at the start of Downton Abbey where the estate and earldom has to go to a cousin who had a brother of the current Earl of Grantham's grantdfather for an ancestor. It is well possible that old Linton decided that his son would be fortunate enough to make a son for himself and specified that in his will...

Edgar Linton is the owner of the property, so why can't he change the will?

Not always, apparently.

Isn't the succession a bit unusual? Normally the property would go to the oldest male heir, but if the owner only had a daughter, it would go to her not the sister.

It would probably go to a cousin of some sort (not to daughters, nor to sisters), even if that cousin was a far descendant from a line going up to the grandfather or something. If there are none of these, though, there will be someone who practically doesn't have anything to do with it, who inherits, as is the case with Heathcliff. And he's got it all worked out very well...

Since Edgar Linton would surely detest the idea of Heathcliff getting hold of his property, why doesn't he remarry and try for a son?

You would think so, wouldn't you? I had the impression he's a typical high Romantic character who falls in love once, then his wife dies and he is so gutted he just lets himself go. Even if that means being lonely, permanently sad and wasting his estate. I had the impresion that he just didn't care anymore after Caherine died so suddenly.

How is it that Heathcliff seems to know the particulars of the will, but Edgar Linton does not? Edgar seems oblivious to it.

Ah, now you could request to see a will at the probate office (I think you can still, as there are millions of amateur genealogists doing it). The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins lists such a case where a woman dies with only one daughter who must necessarily be the heiress. A man who wishes to marry her daughter because of her estate (he needs the money) goes to inspect the will. Noticing that the mother had tied up the money and the estate only for the use of her daughter (so effectually, against the custom of the day), he as the heiress's husband, would not in effect gain possession of the estate or the money whatsoever, he shamelessly abandons the engagement. I can see Heathcliff consulting Edgar or his father's will to see where Thrushcross Grange is likely to go. He'll know it'll go to the eldest male heir. Then goes to find out there are no Lintons to be found and makes sure he is in the game. Maybe even secures something in his marriage contract to the effect of, 'Should Mr Edgar Linton not leave any male heirs whomsoever, the property herein identified as Thrushcross Grange shall become the sole property of his sister Isabella Linton's husband Heathcliff, hereinafter 'the heir'.' Or something. I can see that happening. Devious bastard.

If the property would come to Heathcliff in the event of Edgar Linton's death, why does he even care whether his son Linton Heathcliff marries Cathy Linton?

The only logical explanation I could find for this is that he would like to carry his revenge on after his own death, into the next generation. He will not only make Linton and Cathy (deeply) unhappy, but hopefully they will produce a son and he will be called Heathcliff by surname. And he will be effectually a union of Heatcliff and Catherine Earnshaw blood and will inherit Thrushcross as well as Wuthering Heights. As if Edgar Linton has never ever existed. If they do not have a son (which is also a possibility, because he forces them together. He can't force them to have sex), the whole thing will stop upon Linton HEathcliff's death and the whole estate will be assigned to the Crown, to a mentally unstable George III no less. The ultimate insult. Impressions about this would have been different if it had been Queen Victoria. Also, George III's son was very wasteful. Hardly something you would want to 'give' your estate to your ancestors have worker for generations past...

This plot of revenge by Heathcliff is a very long game. Surely there is a lot that can go wrong.

I don't know whether anything can go wrong. As long as he's got Thrushcross. It only takes people's knowledge to know Edgar won't even try.

[kev67]

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee_tail) is complicated. Apparently, there were several types of entailment, but their purpose was to keep the property in the family. The current owner only owned the property for the duration of his lifetime and could not sell it. The words of the grant could go:


To A and his heirs (fee simple)
To A and the heirs of his body (fee tail) - whoever inherits must be a blood relative
To A and his male heirs (fee male) - whoever inherits must be male
To A and his male heirs of his body (fee tail mail) - whoever inherits must be a male blood relative



In addition there was also:


Fee tail female - property is passed to the daughter
Fee tail special - succession rules includes extra conditions



I believe the difference between the a fee simple and a fee tail was that in a fee tail the successor must be a blood relation. There must have been a customary pattern of succession in a fee tail, I would have thought, similar to that of the monarchy. With the monarchy the eldest son inherits unless there is none, in which case the eldest daughter succeeds to the throne. If there are no children then a brother succeeds to the throne and so on. Most stately homes and aristocratic titles seem to have been inherited on a fee tail male basis. Thrushcross Grange must have been unusual in that it was inherited on a fee simple basis, in which a daughter or someone who is not a blood relation can inherit. An added complication was that it was possible for the current tenant to disentail the future tenant, for example if the current lord thought his eldest son was a spendthrift or had quarrelled with him; however in that case the inheritance would have to go to someone else allowed by the original grant, e.g. a younger son. I cannot see anything that would allow Heathcliff to inherit Thrushcross Grange. A fee special may have extra conditions about succession that would enable Edgar's sister to inherit rather than his daughter, but that seems rather a strange condition. Surely a prime concern of these entailments was to stop people like Heathcliff inheriting your property. I could imagine the property succeeding to Linton Heathcliff, but not to Heathcliff himself. Maybe Heathcliff feels he is on dodgy ground and that is why he is so keen for his son to marry Cathy.

[kev67]

I wonder whether Heathcliff would legally exist. He would not have a birth certificate because he is a foundling. He was never formally adopted (I don't think). He does not even seem to have a last name, or else not a first name. I am sure that situation is not legal now, and I would be surprised if it was then.

[kev67]

Heathcliff has told Nelly twice that he intends to get hold of Thrushcross Grange, why hasn't she passed on this information to Edgar Linton?

That's a good point. Who says she didn't, though? Lockwood is not saying she did, but neither that she didn't.

Heathcliff does not trust Nelly though. He says he likes her but not her double-dealing ways. So why does he even tell her? Is Heathcliff so sure he has sewn the deal up tight?



Edgar Linton is the owner of the property, so why can't he change the will?

Not always, apparently.

It seems the property owner has some influence on who inherits the property, but whoever that is has to comply with the terms of the original deed. He can disentail an heir but cannot appoint just anyone as a replacement.



How is it that Heathcliff seems to know the particulars of the will, but Edgar Linton does not? Edgar seems oblivious to it.

Ah, now you could request to see a will at the probate office (I think you can still, as there are millions of amateur genealogists doing it). The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins lists such a case where a woman dies with only one daughter who must necessarily be the heiress. A man who wishes to marry her daughter because of her estate (he needs the money) goes to inspect the will. Noticing that the mother had tied up the money and the estate only for the use of her daughter (so effectually, against the custom of the day), he as the heiress's husband, would not in effect gain possession of the estate or the money whatsoever, he shamelessly abandons the engagement. I can see Heathcliff consulting Edgar or his father's will to see where Thrushcross Grange is likely to go. He'll know it'll go to the eldest male heir. Then goes to find out there are no Lintons to be found and makes sure he is in the game. Maybe even secures something in his marriage contract to the effect of, 'Should Mr Edgar Linton not leave any male heirs whomsoever, the property herein identified as Thrushcross Grange shall become the sole property of his sister Isabella Linton's husband Heathcliff, hereinafter 'the heir'.' Or something. I can see that happening. Devious bastard.


So, you have read Wilkie Collins too. What did you think? I hear The Moonstone is his best book, but I am thinking of reading The Woman In White eventually.



If the property would come to Heathcliff in the event of Edgar Linton's death, why does he even care whether his son Linton Heathcliff marries Cathy Linton?

The only logical explanation I could find for this is that he would like to carry his revenge on after his own death, into the next generation. He will not only make Linton and Cathy (deeply) unhappy, but hopefully they will produce a son and he will be called Heathcliff by surname. And he will be effectually a union of Heatcliff and Catherine Earnshaw blood and will inherit Thrushcross as well as Wuthering Heights. As if Edgar Linton has never ever existed.


That sounds plausible.

[kiki1982]

Hmmm, that is interesting stuff there. I didn't know that (had never taken the time to research it). It ties in with the impressions I had. So, in effect, a father who died could entail the estate for two generations, as 'A and his heirs' necessarily features one further generation down the line at least.

I believe the thing that struck me (and which I considered natural) was that Heathcliff compels Cathy to marry Linton before her father has died (is that right?). The point to me, was that once Cathy inherits (in the case of a fee simple), her property immediately becomes the property of her husband, i.e. Linton Heahtcliff. It is no secret that Linton is afraid of his father who has total control over him. So, effectually Heathcliff manages Cathy's estate, as he pleases. At the point where Linton Heathcliff dies, he may have made a will which disinherits Cathy in favour of his father Heathcliff (under pressure or not), giving the latter total control of Wuthering Heights as well as Thrushcross.

That's how I considered the matter to be. A male heir in Heathcliff would be difficult, unless you're talking about a fee special here.


I wonder whether Heathcliff would legally exist. He would not have a birth certificate because he is a foundling. He was never formally adopted (I don't think). He does not even seem to have a last name, or else not a first name. I am sure that situation is not legal now, and I would be surprised if it was then.

No, no birth cert, but I don't think things were so rigid then. You just had to say who our father was. Pretty nasty for genealogists nowadays, as some of that stuff is clearly a lie. I personally don't think it was a problem for people like him to exist without any legal status. Happened often.


So, you have read Wilkie Collins too. What did you think? I hear The Moonstone is his best book, but I am thinking of reading The Woman In White eventually.

I don't know, it's a bit far-fetched. I'm not at the end yet. I'm coming to it. A bit daft, actually, but then we are in daft times. You can't ask for proper stuff. Fun to read, though, all the different characters.

[kev67]

According to chap xxv (I think) Edgar Linton is aware that Linton Heathcliff is his heir (not Heathcliff though) and is not able to change the will. In the same chapter Edgar tells Nelly he liked to lie on the mound of Catherine's grave in the summer and had been looking forward to rejoining her in death. Very melancholic.

[kiki1982]

Morbid, more like :shiver:.

Old Linton's will (Zdgar's father) must then have been a fee male. I don't think Isabella inherited. It would have been gone very quickly if it was. A fee male would then make Linton Heathcliff as Edgar's nephew the next male heir available. Cathy inherits nothing in that case. That would make sense, because upon Isabella's death, Edgar decides to take care of her son, also Heathcliff's son, without Heathcliff knowing. That would surely only occur when Edgar had something to gain by that, i.e. Linton is his heir anyway, so therefore, he should have grown up on the estate. Hopefully he will marry Cathy into the bargain, so she can stay there and her life won't be wrecked and she left destitute once her father dies.

As far as I recall, Linton is a sickly boy, though. Maybe even more so at the unhealthy Wuthering Heights. If Heathcliff knew the will was a fee male for I don't know how many generations (I don't know enough of that), then he must also have known that if his son died without male issue, he would inherit everything. And that's what happens. Otherwise I can see him making damn well sure his son makes a will with fee male.

Very interesting stuff. :)

I wonder what will Heathcliff made. If Hindley was supposed to be his borther and Heathcliff made a fee male, it means that Hareton would inherit the two estates, which makes for a happy ending. With a fee simple, I supppose they would all inherit something and live happily ever after. Or he left it all to Cathy... Any clues?

[kev67]

I am not sure how Heathcliff managed to get hold of Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights could not have been entailed. If it had been, it would have gone to Hareton notwithstanding all Hindley's debts to Heathcliff. I am not sure whether Hareton would also have been saddled with his father's debts. I suppose he may have been, but even so, Hareton would not have been able to sell Wuthering Heights to pay the debts off because he would not have owned the property outright. He would only hold the current tenancy, not the future tenancy.

[kiki1982]

No, no, I thought it mentioned somewhere that Hindley had paid off Heathcliff with a mortgage (or call it a chunck) on Wuthering Heights. This apparently happened more than once and was inspired by Heathcliff (another example of how similar The Count and WH are). So, by the time Hindley dies, Heathcliff has 'eaten up' all of Wuthering Heights, so to say. I think that point was reached even before Hindley's death and they made a 'deal' where Heathfcliff would allow Hindley and Hareton to stay (feeding Hindley ever more drink, naturally) for the rest of their lives if Hindley signed the property over to Heathcliff. Once that is done (as Hindley cannot pay off ihis debts), Hareton gets banned to the stables, if I remember rightly, to mimick what Hindley did to Heathcliff at one point. Only Hareton takes it differently (as is apparent from the end of the novel).

The property of Wuthering Heights, then, cannot have been entailed where the current owner cannot sell any of it, but it must have been transferred onto Hindey who is then the bare owner (owner in name and not only usufruct [the advantages and money it generates]).

[kev67]

In chapter xxviii it says Edgar Linton "divined that one of his enemy's purposes was to secure the personal property, as well as the estate, to his son, or rather himself; yet why he did not wait till his decease was a puzzle... because ignorant how nearly he and his nephew would quit the world together." He then tries, too late, to put Catherine's inheritance in the hands of trustees to keep it away from Heathcliff.

So:

Does this mean Heathcliff was lying when he said he would inherit Thrushcross Grange, even without his son?
Why would Mr Linton need to divine anything? Why didn't Nelly tell him?

[kev67]

I see PaulT has it sussed (link (http://www.wuthering-heights.co.uk/legal.htm)). I did notice in chap xxx that Nelly only presumes Heathcliff got Thrushcross Grange legally, so I suppose Emily Brontë was aware of the legal difficulty in the plot.

[Gladys]

I see PaulT has it sussed (link (http://www.wuthering-heights.co.uk/legal.htm)).

Who, by the way, is PaulT? :confused5:

Having read the novel a decade ago, I've much enjoyed the complexities of this thread and the above link. My respect for the nous of Emily Bronte remains boundless.

[kiki1982]

That was an inteesting link! For some reason (it must mention something in the novel) I also beliieved Catherine was an heiress by the end. That's esentially why she feels empowered at the end to start the final leg of Heathcliff's return to humanity, so to say. It's quite qcute really. I thought the last months/weeks of Heathcliff's life and the last he had to do with life at Wuthering Heights were kind of a victory of the feeling of warmth and love over coldness and lonelines.

[kev67]

Who, by the way, is PaulT? :confused5:

Having read the novel a decade ago, I've much enjoyed the complexities of this thread and the above link. My respect for the nous of Emily Bronte remains boundless.

PaulT is this chap here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?8683-Wuthering-Heights-is-excellent/page2), another poster on the forum. Hmm, I just noticed he lives in Reading. Mind you, it's been a while since he last posted.

[kev67]

In the last or second-to-last chapter Heathcliff tells Nelly that she keeps his confidences, which seems to be true. She seemed unwilling to pass on Heathcliff's thoughts and plans to Mr Linton anyway. But then she blabs it all to Mr Lockwood, so she's not that discreet.

[kev67]

In the York notes it says that EB was very knowledgeable about property inheritance rights. Apparently, Heathcliff was lying when he said he would inherit Thrushcross Grange via his wife, Isabella; only his son could. When Linton dies, it would go to Cathy (only by then she is under Heathcliff's control). After Linton' death, Cathy would regain her property because Linton would have been too young to leave it to his father in his will. Again, Cathy is under Heathcliff's control by then, and in addition, Heathcliff has bought the local solicitor, Mr Green.

Another interesting thing I read in the York notes is that if Hindley had really died drunk, it would have been considered suicide and he would not have been buried in consecrated ground. suicides were often buried at crossroads. In addition, his property would have been forfeit to the state. Hareton would have inherited nothing. This is still a bit confusing because by then Wuthering Heights was mortgaged to Heathcliff, was it not? I may have to read that chapter again because I thought Hindley was finished off by Heathcliff (or at least that was implied by Joseph).

[kiki1982]

That's hw I though it was initially, the fat that Linton would have inherited and that, after his death, Cathy would have inherited. Was she of age by then, though, or would it have been put in trust for her? If the latter, then she would have been under the control of the trustees. Needless to mentipn that one of those would have been Heathcliff, another the local solicitor Mr Green. Nawadays there have to be three trustees, apparently (one of which is idependent, like a solicitor), but back then, judging by The Moonstone, it as possible to have only two.

Even if this was not the case, Cathy was undoubtedly under Heathcliff's control, as was the rest of the house. So, either way, Heathcliff would have controlled Thrushcross Grange at any rate, wether it was Cathy's or not.