English Literature books summary

Scene 4:

Viola has now disguised herself as a boy, Cesario, and has been taken into

the service of Count Orsino. Valentine remarks that Orsino and Viola, as

Cesario, have become close in the short time that Viola has been employed;

indeed, Orsino has already told Viola of his great love for Olivia. Orsino

asks Viola to go to Olivia and make Orsino's case to the lady; he believes

that Viola/ Cesario, being younger and more eloquent than his other

messengers, will succeed. Viola says she will obey, although she confesses

in an aside that she already feels love for Orsino, and would rather be his

wife than try to woo Olivia for him.

Scene 5:

Feste's first appearance in the play; unlike Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, who

make wordplay by mincing each other's meanings, Feste is more perceptive

and quick-witted, and gets into an entertaining argument with the equally

quick-witted Maria. Olivia enters, with her attendants, and is somewhat

displeased and short with Feste; Feste says she is a fool for mourning her

brother, if she knows that her brother is in heaven. Viola/ Cesario arrives

at Olivia's house, and is admitted after much waiting, and being examined

by both Sir Toby and Malvolio. Viola is brought in to meet Olivia, who

finds out Viola is a messenger on Orsino's behalf, and Olivia discourages

Viola from wooing her for the Count. Viola tries to make Orsino's suit,

though Olivia counters this with elusive and witty remarks; Olivia begins

to show interest in Viola as Cesario in this scene, and still insists that

she cannot love Orsino. Viola is sent away at last, and Olivia has Malvolio

go after Viola, with a ring and an invitation to come back tomorrow.

Act II Summary:

Scene 1:

Sebastian, Viola's brother, is shown alive, and in the company of Antonio,

a somewhat ­shady sea-captain who is wanted by Count Orsino for

questionable doings on the seas. Sebastian tells Antonio of his sister,

Viola, who he fears has been drowned; he thanks Antonio for his kindness in

saving him from being drowned, and resolves that he must be off alone.

Antonio asks if he may go with Sebastian, but Sebastian refuses this kind

request, and is gone.

Scene 2:

Malvolio catches up to Viola, with the ring he was instructed to give Viola

by Olivia. Viola is surprised, since she left no ring with Olivia; Malvolio

grows impatient with Viola's claim to know nothing of the ring, and he

throws it down onto the ground, and storms off. Viola realizes that the

ring is proof that Olivia has some affection for her as Cesario; she

regrets that Olivia is in love with her disguise, as that will come to

nothing, and also that she is in love with her master, but that she can do

nothing in her present disguise.

Scene 3:

Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are up late, drinking; Feste joins them, and they

request that he sing a song about love. They proceed to make a great deal

of noise, by singing, drinking, and talking nonsense; Maria tries to get

them to be quiet, but Malvolio is awakened by the noise, and comes down to

berate them for disturbing the household. Once Malvolio leaves, Maria

concocts a plan to make Malvolio look like a complete fool: since Maria's

handwriting is similar to Olivia's, she will write love letters to Malvolio

and make it look like the letters have come from Olivia. The party decides

to try this out and see if it will work; Maria leaves to go to bed, and Sir

Toby and Sir Andrew decide to drink the rest of the night away.

Scene 4:

Orsino calls upon Feste to sing an old song, that pleases him very well;

Orsino then begins to talk to Viola/ Cesario of love, and its

imperfections. Orsino compares women to roses "whose fair flower/ being

once displayed, doth fall that very hour"; Viola does not completely

approve of Orsino's slightly cynical view of women, and will seek to

correct it later in the scene. Feste begins to sing his song, a sad one

about love and death, and when he is done, he is dismissed, and makes a

remark about Orsino's extreme changeability of mood.

Viola attempts to soothe Orsino's melancholy by getting him to accept that

Olivia might not love him, but that perhaps another woman does; Orsino

counters this with the argument that women are very inconstant in their

love, and could not have a feeling as deep as the love he has for Olivia.

Viola knows that this is not true, in light of the great amount of feeling

she has for Orsino; she attempts to persuade him that women are "as true of

heart" as men, by telling him a story she makes up about a sister that

loved only too constantly and too well. Orsino asks Viola to go again to

Olivia, and make his suit; Viola obeys, and sets off to see Olivia again.

Scene 5:

Maria appears, with the love-letter she has written for the purposes of

baiting Malvolio. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and their friend Fabian are

present; they hide behind a tree as Malvolio approaches, and Maria places

the letter somewhere where he is certain to find it. Malvolio approaches,

already muttering nonsense about thinking that Olivia fancies him, and

about how things would be if they were married; this angers Sir Toby and

Sir Andrew, who want to beat Malvolio for his pretension. Malvolio finally

spots the letter, and recognizes the handwriting as Olivia's; he takes the

bait completely, believing it to be proof that Olivia really does love him.

Sir Toby and Sir Andrew marvel at Maria's plan, and how it has worked, and

cannot wait to see Malvolio make an even bigger fool of himself.

Act III Summary:

Scene 1:

Viola enters, on her way to see Olivia; she comes across Feste, who is full

of wit and foolery as usual. Feste expresses his dislike for Viola, which

Viola does not take personally; Viola gives him a few coins for his

wordplay, and mentions the wit that it takes to act the fool as well as

Feste does. Viola runs across Sir Toby and Sir Andrew on her way to visit

Olivia; Olivia then comes to meet Viola, and Viola again attempts to make

Orsino's suit to Viola.

Olivia apologizes for the confusion she brought upon Viola with sending the

ring; then, Olivia confesses her affection for Viola/ Cesario, and begs to

know if Viola does indeed feel the same way. Viola says no, then asks again

if Olivia will have anything to do with Orsino; Olivia is constant in her

lack of response to Orsino, but makes one last attempt to win Cesario over.

Viola warns Olivia as best she can, telling Olivia that "I am not what I

am," though Olivia does not guess at the statement's real meaning

(III.i.139). Of course she is unsuccessful, and Viola leaves‹but not

without an entreaty to return.

Scene 2:

Sir Andrew finally comes to his senses, realizing that Olivia favors

Cesario far more than she favors him. His friend Fabian tries to convince

him that Olivia is only pretending to favor Cesario, in order to make Sir

Andrew jealous; his lie is well-intentioned, but does not soothe Sir

Andrew's anger. Sir Toby then persuades Sir Andrew that he should challenge

Cesario to a duel, and that, if Sir Andrew wins, he will surely gain

Olivia's affections. Sir Toby tells him to write a letter of challenge,

which Sir Toby will deliver; Toby actually has no intent of sponsoring a

duel, but thinks the exercise might cool Sir Andrew off a little. Maria

then enters, and begs them all to come see Malvolio, who is acting like a

complete idiot in front of Olivia.

Scene 3:

Antonio is slow to leave Sebastian's side, as he fears some accident may

happen to Sebastian since he is completely ignorant of the country.

Sebastian wants to go about and see the sights, but Antonio tells him that

he cannot; Antonio confesses that he was involved with some piracy against

Illyria, and that he is wanted by the Count because of it. Antonio proposes

that they meet up at an inn in one hour, and that Sebastian can wander

about until then; they part, hopeful of meeting up again without accident.

Scene 4:

Maria warns Olivia of Malvolio's very strange behavior; yet, Olivia still

wishes that Malvolio be brought before her. Malvolio is wearing yellow,

cross-gartered stockings, which Olivia abhors; he is careful to point out

what he thinks is his fashionable taste. Malvolio continues his absurdity,

making remarks of unwarranted familiarity, and completely baffling Olivia

with his misguided attempts to be amorous toward her. Olivia dismisses

Malvolio's odd behavior as being some kind of passing madness, and orders

that Malvolio be looked after while she sees to Cesario, who has supposedly

returned.

Sir Toby, Maria, and Fabian approach Malvolio; they treat Malvolio's case

as an instant of witchcraft or possession, and pretend they know nothing of

the real cause of Malvolio's strange behavior. Then, their plan takes a

more malicious turn; not satisfied with the havoc they have already caused,

they decide to make Malvolio go mad, if they can. Sir Andrew returns, with

his "saucy" letter for Cesario, and Viola as Cesario appears, having

patched up any bad feelings over their last dramatic scene.

Sir Toby conveys Sir Andrew's challenge to Viola, and tries to make Viola

shrink from the confrontation by greatly exaggerating Sir Andrew's meanness

and anger. Sir Andrew and Viola come close to some sort of reluctant

confrontation, when Antonio stumbles on them; Antonio is arrested by

officers of the Count, and asks Viola for his purse, mistaking Viola for

her brother Sebastian. Antonio is taken aback when Viola will not give him

his purse, thinking that she, as Sebastian, is ungrateful for his help; he

speaks of rescuing Sebastian from drowning, which lets Viola know that her

brother might be alive. Antonio is dragged away, and Viola hopes that what

Antonio said is indeed true, and that her brother might have been saved

from the wreck.

Act IV Summary:

Scene 1:

Feste approaches Sebastian, thinking that Sebastian is 'Cesario'; when

Sebastian tells Feste that he does not know him, nor Olivia, whom Feste

tells him to meet, Feste becomes rather upset, and accuses Sebastian of

"strangeness". Then Sir Andrew comes, and strikes Sebastian out of anger,

as if he were Cesario; Sir Toby and Sebastian come close to getting in a

duel of their own, when Olivia finds them, and charges them to stop. Olivia

dismisses Sir Toby, and asks Sebastian "would thou'dst be ruled by me,"

thinking that he is Cesario, due to his great resemblance to his sister.

Sebastian decides to go along with it, struck by Olivia's beauty, thinking

it all a pleasant dream from which he hopes he will not awaken.

Scene 2:

Maria and Feste conspire to present Feste as Sir Topaz, the curate, to

Malvolio, who is hidden from view. Feste tries to convince that Malvolio

that he is crazy, and Malvolio continues to insist that he is not, that he

has been wrongly incarcerated. Feste then confronts Malvolio as himself,

and torments him some more; he fakes a conversation with himself as Feste

and Sir Topaz, and Malvolio begs for paper and ink so that he can send a

message to Olivia. Feste promises to fetch these things, and exits with a

song.

Scene 3:

Sebastian debates with himself whether he is mad, or whether it is the Lady

Olivia; but, he recognizes that is cannot be her, since she is able to

command a large household, and therefore would have to be sane and

coherent. Olivia asks him to come with her to the parson and be married to

her; Sebastian, though he does not know her and cannot figure out exactly

what is going on, says he will marry her, and leaves with her.

Act V Summary:

Scene 1:

Fabian asks Feste for the letter Malvolio has written; Feste refuses this

request, and then Orsino, with Viola, finds them. Feste delays him with a

bit of jesting, and gets some money out of him; Orsino asks him to find

Olivia, and Feste goes to find her, with the promise of money for the task.

Viola points out Antonio, who is being brought to them by officers; Orsino

remembers Antonio from a sea-battle, and Viola tries to defend Antonio from

charges of crime by noting his kindness to her. Antonio claims that he

rescued Viola from drowning, and that they have been in each other's

company ever since; Orsino says that this is nonsense, since Viola has been

serving him the whole time.

Then, Olivia approaches them, still denying Orsino's love, while admitting

her affection for Viola. Orsino becomes angry at Viola, rather than Olivia,

because of these developments; he begins to suspect Viola of double-

dealings, and out of his anger, he admits his love for Viola, still

disguised as a boy. Viola, for the first time, declares her love for

Orsino, much to Olivia's consternation; Olivia counters this declaration by

divulging that she was married, to Viola as Cesario, she thinks. A priest

confirms Olivia's account, and Orsino becomes even more angry at Viola. Sir

Andrew and Sir Toby enter, charging Viola with fighting them and injuring

them; Viola is again shocked, and confused.

Suddenly, Sebastian dashes in, apologizing for injuring Sir Toby; he

expresses his happiness at seeing Antonio again, and acknowledges Olivia as

his wife. Viola and Sebastian see each other again, and there is a joyful

reunion. Sebastian reveals to Olivia that she married him, rather than his

sister in disguise; Orsino swears that he loves Viola, and will marry her.

Then, the action turns to Malvolio's condition; his letter is read, and his

condition explained. Malvolio is upset at his mistreatment, and Olivia

attempts to smooth things over; Fabian explains his, Sir Toby's, and

Maria's part in Malvolio's torment. Then, Feste inflames Malvolio's anger,

and he leaves, in a huff.

Orsino pronounces that happiness will stay with all of them, and that his

marriage to Viola will soon be performed. Feste closes the play with a song

about "the wind and the rain," a reminder that even great happiness is not

safe from life's storms.

Wuthering Heights

Chapter 1, Summary

In Chapter 1 the narrator, Mr. Lockwood, relates how he has just

returned from a visit to his new landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. Lockwood, a self-

described misanthropist, is renting Thrushcross Grange in an effort to get

away from society following a failure at love. He had fallen in love with a

"real goddess," but when she returned his affection he acted so coldly she

"persuaded her mamma to decamp." He finds that relative to Heathcliff,

however, he is extremely sociable. Heathcliff, "a dark skinned gypsy, in

aspect, in dress, and manners a gentleman" treats his visitor with a

minimum of friendliness, and the farm, Wuthering Heights, where he lives,

is just as foreign and unfriendly. "Wuthering" means stormy and windy in

the local dialect. Dangerous-looking dogs inhabit the bare and old-

fashioned rooms, and threaten to attack Lockwood: when he calls for help

Heathcliff implies that Lockwood had tried to steal something. The only

other inhabitants of Wuthering Heights are an old servant named Joseph and

a cook. Despite his rudeness, Lockwood finds himself drawn to Heathcliff:

he describes him as being intelligent, proud and morose, an unlikely

farmer, and declares his intention to visit Wuthering Heights again. The

visit is set in 1801.

Chapter 2, Summary

Annoyed by the housework being done in the Grange, Lockwood pays a

second visit to Wuthering Heights, arriving there just as snow begins to

fall. The weather is cold, the ground is frozen, and his reception matches

the bleak unfriendliness of the moors. After yelling at the old servant

Joseph to open the door, he is finally let in by a peasant-like young man.

The bare kitchen is warm, and Lockwood assumes that the young and beautiful

girl there is Mrs. Heathcliff. He tries to make conversation but she is

consistently scornful and inhospitable, and he only embarrasses himself.

There is "a kind of desperation" in her eyes. She refuses to make him tea

unless Heathcliff said he could have some. The young man and Heathcliff

come in for tea. The young man behaves boorishly and seems to suspect

Lockwood of making advances to the girl. Heathcliff demands tea "savagely,"

and Lockwood decides he doesn't really like him. Trying to make

conversation again, Lockwood gets into trouble first assuming that the girl

is Heathcliff's wife, and then that she is married to the young man, who he

supposes to be Heathcliff's son. He is rudely corrected, and it transpires

that the girl is Heathcliff's daughter-in-law but her husband is dead, as

is Heathcliff's wife. The young man is Hareton Earnshaw. It is snowing hard

and Lockwood requests a guide so he can return home safely, but he is

refused: Heathcliff considers it more important that Hareton take care of

the horses. Joseph, who is evidently a religious fanatic, argues with the

girl, who frightens him by pretending to be a witch. The old servant

doesn't like her reading. Lockwood, left stranded and ignored by all, tries

to take a lantern, but Joseph offensively accuses him of stealing it, and

sets dogs on him. Lockwood is humiliated and Heathcliff and Hareton laugh.

The cook, Zillah, takes him in and says he can spend the night.

Chapter 3, Summary

Zillah quietly shows Lockwood to a chamber which, she says, Heathcliff

does not like to be occupied. She doesn't know why, having only lived there

for a few years. Left alone, Lockwood notices the names "Catherine

Earnshaw," "Catherine Linton," and "Catherine Heathcliff" scrawled over the

window ledge. He leafs through some old books stacked there, and finds that

the margins are covered in handwriting evidently the child Catherine's

diary. He reads some entries which evoke a time in which Catherine and

Heathcliff were playmates living together as brother and sister, and

bullied by Joseph (who made them listen to sermons) and her older brother

Hindley. Apparently Heathcliff was a "vagabond" taken in by Catherine's

father, raised as one of the family, but when the father died Hindley made

him a servant and threatened to throw him out, to Catherine's sorrow.

Lockwood then falls asleep over a religious book, and has a nightmare

about a fanatical preacher leading a violent mob. Lockwood wakes up, hears

that a sound in his dream had really been a branch rubbing against the

window, and falls asleep again. This time he dreams that he wanted to open

the window to get rid of the branch, but when he did, a "little, ice-cold

hand" grabbed his arm, and a voice sobbed "let me in." He asked who it was,

and was answered: "Catherine Linton. I'm come home, I'd lost my way on the

moor." He saw a child's face and, afraid, drew the child's wrist back and

forth on the broken glass of the window so that blood soaked the sheets.

Finally he gets free, and insists that he won't let the creature in, even

if it has been lost for twenty years, which it claims it has. He awakes

screaming.

Heathcliff comes in, evidently disturbed and confused, unaware that

Lockwood is there. Lockwood tells him what happened, mentioning the dream

and Catherine Linton's name, which distresses and angers Heathcliff.

Lockwood goes to the kitchen, but hears on his way Heathcliff at the

window, despairingly begging "Cathy" to come in "at last." Lockwood is

embarrassed by his host's obvious agony.

Morning comes: Lockwood witnesses an argument between Heathcliff and

the girl, who has been reading. He bullies her, and she resists spiritedly.

Heathcliff walks Lockwood most of the way home in the snow.

Chapter 4, Summary

Lockwood is bored and a little weak after his adventures, so he asks

his housekeeper, Ellen Dean, to tell him about the history of Heathcliff

and the old families of the area. She says he is very rich and a miser,

though he has no family, since his son is dead. The girl living at

Wuthering Heights was the daughter of Ellen's former employers, the

Lintons, and her name was Catherine. She is the daughter of the late Mrs.

Catherine Linton, was born an Earnshaw, thus Hareton's aunt. Heathcliff's

wife was Mr. Linton's sister. Ellen is fond of the younger Catherine, and

worries about her unhappy situation.

The narrative switches to Ellen's voice, whose language is much

plainer than Lockwood's. She is a discreet narrator, rarely reminding the

listener of her presence in the story, so that the events she recounts

appear immediate. She says she had grown up at Wuthering Heights, and one

day:

Mr. Earnshaw offered to bring his children Hindley (14 years old) and

Catherine (about 6) a present each from Liverpool, where he was going.

Hindley asked for a fiddle and Catherine for a whip, because she was

already an excelled horsewoman. When Earnshaw returned, however, he brought

with him a "dirty, ragged, black-haired child" found starving on the

streets. The presents had been lost or broken. The boy was named Heathcliff

and taken into the family, though not entirely welcomed by Mrs. Earnshaw,

Ellen, and Hindley. He and Catherine became very close, and Heathcliff was

Earnshaw's favorite. Hindley felt that his place was usurped, and took it

out on Heathcliff, who was hardened and stoical. For example, Earnshaw gave

them each a colt, and Heathcliff chose the finest, which went lame.

Heathcliff then claimed Hindley's, and when Hindley threw a heavy iron at

him, threatened to tell Earnshaw about it if he didn't get the colt.

Chapter 5, Summary

Earnshaw grew old and sick his wife had died some years before and

with his illness he became irritable and somewhat obsessed with the idea

that people disliked his favorite, Heathcliff. Heathcliff was spoiled as a

result, to keep Earnshaw happy, and Hindley, who became more and more

bitter about the situation, was sent away to college. Joseph, already "the

wearisomest, self-righteous pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake

the promises to himself, and fling the curses to his neighbors," used his

religious influence over Earnshaw to distance him from his children.

Earnshaw thought Hindley was worthless, and didn't like Cathy's playfulness

and high spirits, so in his last days he was irritable and discontented.

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