What Did Cathy Die of in Wuthering Heights
If you want to get technical (and who doesn’t love a little trivia for the dinner table?), the most likely historical diagnosis is puerperal fever, a nasty infection after childbirth. It was a common killer in the 1800s, and Cathy does have all the hallmarks: fever, delirium, and a rapid decline.
But here’s the twist: the novel itself blames her emotions. The doctor, Dr. Kenneth, mutters that she’s “a person in the world who is not to be misunderstood by the world.” In other words, Cathy doesn’t die of bacteria; she dies of not getting what she wants. It’s the literary version of seeing a toddler hold their breath after being told “no cookies before dinner.” Except this toddler is a grown woman with a flair for the dramatic.
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