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Character analysis · longtime servant at Wuthering Heights

Joseph

in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Joseph is the elderly manservant at Wuthering Heights, present throughout nearly the entire novel. He is one of only two servants who stay at the Heights during Hindley Earnshaw's destructive years — Nelly Dean remains out of loyalty to her charge, while Joseph, as Nelly puts it, is there because "it was his vocation to be where he had plenty of wickedness to reprove." He is described as "an elderly, nay, an old man, very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy," and he speaks in a thick Yorkshire dialect.

His main traits are sour religiosity, self-righteousness, and a knack for making those around him unhappy. Nelly refers to him as "the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses to his neighbours." He leads long prayer meetings, delivers relentless sermons, and exercises his pious authority to impose discipline on the children of the house. He gains increasing influence over the ailing Mr. Earnshaw, persuading him to see Hindley as a reprobate and feeding him "a long string of tales" against Heathcliff and Catherine.

Joseph doesn’t drive the plot himself, but he is a constant, oppressive presence — a living symbol of the Heights' joylessness. By the end of the novel, Heathcliff suggests that Joseph will stay on to tend to the empty house after everyone else has left.

About this character

Role
longtime servant at Wuthering Heights
Form
Novel
Author
Emily Brontë
First published
1847

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Joseph?

Joseph is the aging, sturdy manservant at Wuthering Heights. During Lockwood's first visit, he describes him as "an elderly, nay, an old man, very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy," while muttering "The Lord help us!" in an irritated tone. His dialogue is rich with a thick Yorkshire dialect, firmly rooting him in the local culture and its harsher customs. Nelly succinctly captures his essence: "the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses to his neighbours."

02·Arc & motivation

What is Joseph's arc and motivation?

Joseph remains unchanged throughout the novel; his unyielding nature defines his role. His motivation mixes genuine Calvinist piety with a desire for moral authority. He stays at the Heights during Hindley's decline not out of loyalty to individuals but, as Nelly explains, "because it was his vocation to be where he had plenty of wickedness to reprove." He seeks influence through preaching, exercises it over the frail Mr. Earnshaw, and maintains it as a constant presence in the household under each new master. By the end of the novel, Heathcliff confirms that Joseph will remain to look after the empty Heights after the living have departed — a fitting conclusion for a character who feels more like a fixture of the building than a person.

03·Key moments

What are Joseph's key moments?

  • Chapter III: Catherine Earnshaw's childhood diary, discovered by Lockwood, recounts Joseph forcing the children to endure a three-hour Sunday service in the garret and tearing down the curtain they made, scolding them with "Shame on ye! sit ye down, ill childer!" The diary also includes a caricature of Joseph, "rudely, yet powerfully sketched."
  • Chapter V: Nelly's retrospective account reveals Joseph's most significant action — his systematic influence over the dying Mr. Earnshaw, feeding him tales against Heathcliff and Catherine while encouraging him to see Hindley as a reprobate.
  • Chapter V: At Mr. Earnshaw's death, Joseph is found reading his Bible at the table; he discovers the death, sends the children upstairs, and dispatches Nelly for the doctor, then scolds the household for "roaring" over "a saint in heaven."
  • Chapter XIX: Joseph arrives at the Grange in his Sunday clothes to demand Linton Heathcliff be returned to his father, dismissing Nelly "disdainfully" and insisting on speaking only to the master.
  • Chapter XXIII: Young Cathy and Nelly find Joseph "sitting in a sort of elysium alone, beside a roaring fire; a quart of ale on the table near him, bristling with large pieces of toasted oat-cake; and his black, short pipe in his mouth" — a rare moment of private comfort that highlights his indifference to others.
  • Chapter XXX: Joseph blocks the door against Nelly when she calls to ask about young Catherine, denying her entry.
  • Chapter XXXIII: Joseph's black-currant trees are described as the apple of his eye, and young Cathy's choice to plant a flower-bed among them is treated as a serious affront.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Joseph's most important relationships?

Joseph's most significant relationship is with Mr. Earnshaw: by exploiting the old man's religious fears and physical frailty, he shapes the atmosphere of the Heights in ways that undermine Hindley's authority and intensify the household's cruelty toward Heathcliff and Catherine. His relationship with Nelly is marked by mutual antagonism — they are colleagues out of necessity rather than sympathy, and Nelly's narration provides the novel's most scathing characterization of him. With the children — Catherine, Heathcliff, and later young Cathy — he serves as an instrument of joyless discipline, thrashing Heathcliff until his arm ached and enforcing lengthy Sunday services. Catherine's caricature of him is a small act of defiance that signifies the children's collective resistance to his authority.

05·Connected characters

How is Joseph connected to the other characters?

Heathcliff

Joseph serves under Heathcliff as master of the Heights for much of the novel, carrying out practical tasks and acting as a loyal, if grim, fixture of the household. Heathcliff uses Joseph to relay messages and enforce his will, while Joseph regards Heathcliff's household as a rich field for his moralising.

Mr. Earnshaw

Joseph gains significant influence over the ageing and ailing Mr. Earnshaw through persistent sermonising, encouraging him to harden against Hindley and to worry over the souls of the children.

Nelly Dean

Nelly and Joseph are the only two servants who remain at the Heights during Hindley's worst years; Nelly regards Joseph with frank contempt, calling him the most self-righteous Pharisee she has ever known, and their shared meals are described as seasoned with his reproofs and her sauciness.

Hindley Earnshaw

Joseph stays on at the Heights because it is his vocation to be where he has plenty of wickedness to reprove. His nightly tales to Mr. Earnshaw are told against Heathcliff and Catherine, not Hindley, and he takes care always to flatter Earnshaw's weakness by heaping the heaviest blame on Catherine.

Catherine Earnshaw

Joseph imposes harsh religious discipline on Catherine in childhood, and she responds by turning his curses into ridicule; she sketches a caricature of him in the margins of her books.

Hareton Earnshaw

Isabella describes Joseph and Hareton as "detestable companions," saying she would rather sit with Hindley than with "t' little maister" and his "staunch supporter, that odious old man."

Catherine Linton

Joseph bars the door against Nelly when she calls to ask after young Catherine, and Catherine herself quarrels with Joseph in the kitchen during her confinement at the Heights, finding it preferable to sitting alone.

Mr. Lockwood

Joseph is the first servant Lockwood encounters at the Heights; he takes Lockwood's horse with sour reluctance and is described by Lockwood as looking at him "so sourly" that Lockwood charitably assumes he needs divine aid to digest his dinner.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Joseph

How is Joseph first described in the novel?

When Lockwood reaches the Heights in Chapter I, Joseph is portrayed as "an elderly, nay, an old man, very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy." He takes Lockwood's horse while giving him a "so sourly" look that makes Lockwood think he might need divine assistance to digest his meal.

Why does Joseph stay at Wuthering Heights through Hindley's worst years?

Nelly explains in Chapter VIII that Joseph stayed "because it was his vocation to be where he had plenty of wickedness to reprove" — he is driven not by loyalty to anyone but by his desire to condemn immorality.

What influence does Joseph have over Mr. Earnshaw?

In Chapter V, Nelly explains that Joseph takes advantage of Mr. Earnshaw's declining health and religious worries by constantly preaching to him. He prompts Mr. Earnshaw to see Hindley as a sinner and shares negative stories about Heathcliff and Catherine each night, resulting in "the more feeble the master became, the more influence he gained."

How do the children respond to Joseph's religious authority?

Catherine Earnshaw's childhood diary (Chapter III) captures how the children groaned during his lengthy three-hour Sunday services, secretly wishing he would catch a chill to shorten them — a wish that was never fulfilled. Catherine even draws a caricature of him in the margins of her books, while Nelly observes that Catherine mocked "Joseph's religious curses" (Chapter V).

What is Joseph's role in the later chapters at the Heights?

In the later chapters, Joseph sticks around the household, grumbling about young Catherine's behavior (Chapter XXXII), jealously guarding his black-currant trees (Chapter XXXIII), and refusing to let Nelly in when she comes to check on young Catherine (Chapter XXX). Heathcliff mentions in Chapter XXXIV that Joseph will stay on to take care of the Heights after everyone else has gone.

What does Joseph's dialect tell us about him?

Joseph speaks throughout in a thick Yorkshire dialect — "T' maister nobbut just buried," "Na—ay! yah muh goa back whear yah coom frough" — highlighting his strong connection to the local area and its traditional customs. This distinctive way of speaking sets him apart from the more refined speech of the characters linked to Thrushcross Grange.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Joseph as an instrument of Calvinist repression

    exploring how his theology operates not as genuine faith but as a means of social control and personal power within the Heights.

  • Joseph and the atmosphere of Wuthering Heights

    examining how his constant, unchanging presence contributes to the novel's impression of the Heights as a place outside ordinary time and empathy.

  • Joseph's dialect as characterization

    analyzing how Brontë uses his Yorkshire speech to portray him as local, archaic, and resistant to the refined world of the Grange.

  • Joseph and narrative reliability

    considering how Nelly's disdain for Joseph colors every description of him — to what extent is her portrayal accurate, and what does her hostility reveal about her own values?

  • Joseph as a moral foil

    contrasting his ostentatious piety with the genuine, albeit flawed, moral sentiments expressed by Nelly, and what this suggests about the novel's view of religion.

Wuthering Heights

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