Both spiritual reassessment and moral reconciliation are evident in Brontë’s resolution to Wuthering Heights through Heathcliff’s realization that his vengeance was in error, his eventual peaceful burial next to his beloved Cathy and her husband, and the newfound love between Hareton and young Catherine.
Throughout the latter part of the novel, Heathcliff leads a life that has only one purpose: to revenge himself upon those who have slighted him. It is not until the end of the novel that he finally witnesses the decay that surrounds him and realizes that his inability to forgive has hurt not only those he loved—his revenge has also hurt himself. In the events approaching his death, Heathcliff becomes wracked with guilt, finding that “when I look for [Hareton’s] father in his face, I see [Cathy] every day more”. This sudden onslaught of guilt demonstrates that Heathcliff is beginning to doubt his actions, to feel a small bit of remorse. Heathcliff realizes that he has spent his life in vain, not treasuring Cathy’s existence and love, but turning her world into “a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her”. This spiritual reassessment of his life is fundamental to the novel in that it allows Heathcliff to resolve his internal conflict. The only way that Heathcliff can move past the wrongs in his life is to forgive his enemies and, most importantly, forgive himself. Brontë’s ending where Heathcliff falls into delirium is not sorrowful; it is an indicator that Heathcliff is still a man worthy of sympathy and not a brutish fiend.
As Heathcliff loses his mind and eventually dies, he is buried next to Cathy and ascends to Heaven to be with her. Although his end is tragic and his burial scandalous, it is pivotal that he dies; death is the only way in which he can truly reconcile himself with Cathy. His being with Cathy would give his “soul bliss,” but it would also unfortunately “[kill his] body”. Ultimately, it is only in Heathcliff’s death that he can truly be happy and Catherine’s ghost can truly be appeased. In death, class no longer divides the two, nor does Heathcliff’s agenda of retribution. They are perfect angels in God’s eyes and are able to love each other once again. In death, Heathcliff is also reconciled with his former enemy Edgar Linton. The burial of the two in the same cemetery as equals is symbolic because it represents the dissolution of the arbitrary social classes that they were born into.
Heathcliff’s derangement and death also indirectly benefits Hareton and young Catherine because it enables them to finally develop a meaningful relationship. Their relationship in the novel contrasts against the failed relationships in the first half of the novel, providing a glimmer of hope against the disastrous love of Heathcliff and Cathy. 