Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” has been a beloved Victorian-era classic for many years. Its main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, are unlike any other gothic novel from the same period. The story, which spans over two generations, explores social hierarchies and the idea of revenge. Although it has been called a romance novel, the contents of Brontë’s story are almost anything but.
On Feb. 13, 2026, Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” adaptation released in theaters, and is practically the strangest of all of the book’s adaptations. “Wuthering Heights” starred Margot Robbie as Catherine and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, which some people have noted as an odd choice. Emerald Fennell’s other notable movie, “Saltburn,” also stars Jacob Elordi and has mostly been praised.
When the movie’s changes were made public, Fennell faced criticism, mostly from Brontë fans. However, she’s claimed that the changes were because “Wuthering Heights” is not a true adaptation of the book, but instead an interpretation based on her thoughts upon reading it at 14 years old. The movie has been marketed as a “primal” romance, focusing on the passionate love between its characters.
One of the most controversial parts of Fennell’s movie is Robbie and Elordi’s casting. As the movie only portrays the first half of the book, Robbie has been said to be too old to play Cathy, who is a teen in the novel.
Elordi’s role as Heathcliff is arguably more controversial. In the first chapter of “Wuthering Heights,” Heathcliff is described as a “dark-skinned gipsy.” While his ethnicity isn’t discussed, it’s hard to ignore how Elordi does not exactly look like Brontë’s description. Heathcliff’s race has been discussed numerous times. Some readers argue he’s mixed, while others believe that he is full South Asian, Romani, or Black.
The novel being written in the mid-1800s means that much of the the social context necessary is lost today, such as Heathcliff possibly being Cathy’s biological half-brother, which, in that case, he would most likely be of mixed race. When Mr. Earnshaw, Cathy’s father, brings Heathcliff home from the streets of Liverpool, he says that he is a gift of God, although he’s “dark, almost as if it came from the devil,” which is also another indicator of him not being white.
During the early 1800s in Britain, the book’s setting, illegitimate children would often live in workhouses or with their mother’s relatives. The theory makes sense, based on Mr. Earnshaw’s kind treatment towards Heathcliff, but it is entirely implications-based and does not cause a lot of change to the plot besides a few quote explanations.
Either way, it is mostly agreed upon that Heathcliff is anything but white, as Mr. Linton assumes that Heathcliff is a Lascar, which was an Arab or South/Southeast Asian sailor. But Fennell is satisfied with Elordi’s casting, as he apparently looks exactly like his illustration on her old copy of “Wuthering Heights,” which is humorous considering the descriptions inside the book.
Apart from Heathcliff’s race, Fennell has made changes to many other characters, one being Mr. Earnshaw.
In Brontë’s novel, Mr. Earnshaw is a kind man and treats both Heathcliff and Cathy well. In the movie, however, Mr. Earnshaw is abusive towards Heathcliff and beats him because of Cathy’s disappearance at the birthday. Additionally, he is an alcoholic who gambles away the family’s money when the true gambler of “Wuthering Heights” is Hindley, Cathy’s brother, who is completely absent from the movie.
Not only that, but Hindley and Mr. Earnshaw are the entire reasons behind the plot. Without Mr. Earnshaw’s affection towards Heathcliff, Hindley would not have scorned him so much. He drives Heathcliff into doing what he does because of his jealousy of him.
In some ways, maybe Hindley and Mr. Earnshaw can combine without ruining the entire point of Heathcliff’s revenge. In Fennell’s case, unfortunately, where a lot of characters are bland Walmart versions of their original selves, she may have just forgotten about Hindley’s existence entirely.
Another notably missing character is Mr. Lockwood, the book’s first narrator. Mr. Lockwood is a visitor to the estate, and he becomes interested in the family’s history. He learns about them through Nelly, the housekeeper and second narrator, who is present in the movie but has been portrayed as a villain and the main reason behind Cathy and Heathcliff’s misfortunes.
Fennell doesn’t stop there. Isabella Linton, Heathcliff’s wife, is no longer a victim of marital abuse but instead a willing participant. Her triumph of escaping to London is nonexistent because she enjoys everything Heathcliff puts her through.
After two hours and sixteen minutes of Fennell butchering relationships and characters, “Wuthering Heights” 2026 comes to an end. And an entire generation of Earnshaws and Lintons remains missing.
Adaptation-wise, the movie misses the mark in a lot of ways. It almost seems as if Fennell read the book once, thirty years ago, and never picked it up again after that. Along with the ‘Booktok’-esque marketing of the movie, it makes a viewer wonder how much Fennell understood the plot.
