how do you think the story would change if linton was a girl and cathy a boy - would heathcliff's social experiment stay the same?
Well, it would obviously be different because male-Cathy would be heir to Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff would lose any claim to it. And while he would get a foothold in by marrying his daughter to male-Cathy, that would come to an end after female-Linton died, because male-Cathy would still inherit. In the novel, Heathcliff is extremely lucky that he has a son while Edgar has only a daughter, because Thrushcross Grange is effectively entailed (although it’s implied that it’s not an actual entailment, but just the way Mr. Linton made out his will out of personal preference) so that if Edgar should die without a son, his property will go to Isabella’s son instead of Edgar’s daughter - and then Heathcliff manipulates his dying son into bequeathing it all to himself. If Edgar had a son and Heathcliff had a daughter instead, Heathcliff’s plan to acquire the Grange would have to be much more complicated.
