Mr. Lockwood is a new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, a property managed by a landlord called Heathcliff. His pressing curiosity about Wuthering Heights emphasizes his status as an outsider who is looking in.Nelly Dean, the housekeeper, provides him with the back history that explains Heathcliff’s dark moods and violent behaviors, as well as the odd manner of other residents of the household. Mr. Lockwood writes Nelly’s story about Wuthering Heights down in a journal that makes up the bulk of the novel.

As a housekeeper and observer of all the goings-on at Wuthering Heights, Nelly Dean tells Lockwood the entire story, which he records in his journal. She has a deep understanding of what happens from both the Earnshaw perspective and the Linton point of view. Nelly is not supportive of Heathcliff during his childhood days, and her negativity towards him persists as Heathcliff matures, so the reader must remember that his story is told through the eyes of someone who did not like him very much. Her prejudice makes her a less than fully reliable narrator. Nelly’s emotional life is as chaotic as that of other characters in the novel, as she reacts strongly in some situations and more evenly in others, without any obvious patterns that might indicate who or what causes her the most angst.