Nearing death, Catherine knows the next time she goes to the moors will be her last. She does not allow Edgar to comfort either her or himself with a false sense of hope or security. Edgar nurses Catherine tenderly and attentively as best he can, but is he doing this out of love for his wife or the child she is bearing? Without an heir, Isabella would inherit Thrushcross Grange in the event of Edgar's death. Because Isabella is married to Heathcliff, that means Edgar's rival would essentially inherit Edgar's property. Edgar does not want this to happen.
While Edgar is nursing Catherine, readers get a view of Heathcliff from Isabella's perspective. Her letter to Nelly narrates the events that have transpired from the time she eloped. Isabella questions if Heathcliff is really a man and suggests that he may be incarnate evil. She realizes marrying him was a mistake but also realizes she cannot atone for her error. Isabella reveals that Heathcliff blames Edgar for Catherine's suffering, and he will take this out on Isabella, too. Heathcliff may or may not be the devil, but he is making Isabella's life a living hell.
