Emily Brontë's novel tells Heathcliff's story of her love for Catherine and how this passion eventually destroys them both. The central theme of the book is the destructive effect that the sense of jealousy and the spirit of revenge can have about individuals. The story is told as a kind of long story that Ellen Dean, or Nelly (the housekeeper) tells Mr. Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange; the final is instead set the year after Mr. Lockwood's departure.