Originally published in 1847, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights has been regarded as a foundational classic of English literature and staple of Gothic fiction, inspiring over 30 movie adaptations and one very famous Kate Bush song. While often classified as romance, the novel is a dark tragedy focusing on intense obsession, revenge, and cruelty with only subtle undertones of love. Wuthering Heights takes place in the isolated moor countryside of England, and begins in the late winter months of 1801, when a man named Lockwood rents out a manor by the name of Thrushcross Grange. It is here that he meets Heathcliff, the anti-hero of the story, as well as Nelly Dean, the Grange’s housekeeper who begins to tell Lockwood the story of Heathcliff and the other figures of Wuthering Heights. Lockwood writes down Nelly’s recollections in his diary, which then makes up the majority of the novel.
Nelly’s story tells the tale of Mr. Earnshaw, who one day brings home a child by the name of Heathcliff, to accompany his children Hindley and Catherine. While Catherine takes a great liking to Heathcliff, Hindley grows to detest him, as he becomes the more favored son despite his dark skin and unknown ethnicity. Years later, Catherine marries and has a daughter with neighbor Edgar Linton of Thrushcross Grange, and begins to have an ambivalent relationship with Heathlcliff, forcing herself to act maliciously towards him to suppress her true feelings. Heathcliff, as an act of revenge, marries and has a son with Edgar’s sister Isabella. Over the course of the novel, Wuthering Heights explores the repercussions of Heathcliff and Cathy’s tumultuous relationship, and the effects each other’s obsession of each other had on generations after them.
Wuthering Heights reached its level of popularity at the time because its raw, intense, portrayal of obsessive love and revenge set itself apart from typical 19th century literature. It remains relevant today because of the excitement of the book’s unreliable narrators, the gloomy yet classically English setting, and its continuous effect on other media, even nearly 200 years later. Additionally, despite its dated English writing and the phonetically written Yorkshire accent of multiple characters, the novel is relatively easy to read as opposed to other classics.
Wuthering Heights became especially popular leading up to and following the release of Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”. Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, this adaptation was unconventional at best and a mockery at worst. To begin, the casting for this movie was completely ruined. Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff completely shatters the plot, as it is imperative to the story that Heathcliff is dark-skinned as racism plays a significant role in the story. Even worse, Shazad Latiff, who is dark-skinned and middle eastern, plays Edgar Linton, when he could have just as easily played Heathcliff and Elordi played Linton. Additionally, Margot Robbie, who plays Cathy, is blonde, while Alison Oliver, who plays Isabella Linton, is brunette. This is completely inconsistent with the novel, where the Lintons are blonde and the Earnshaws and brunette, which additionally plays an important role in the novel to represent the significantly higher wealth of the Lintons. Emerald Fenell clearly prioritized choosing actors that had more popularity rather than casting for accuracy and to pay respects to the original. Additionally, the Wuthering Heights movie fails to even tell the entire story. While the novel covers the effects of Cathy and Heathcliff on their kids, and the eventual death of all involved, the movie stops at Cathy’s death. This does an injustice to the novel, as some would argue that the story gets increasingly interesting following Cathy’s death, and readers then see the effects her death had on others. While the movie Wuthering Heights has some redeeming qualities, such as Charli XCX’s soundtrack for it and the plot that covers the first half of the novel, the movie overall is too loose an interpretation of the classic novel and should have been a standalone movie, and would be more thoroughly enjoyed without reading the novel first.