Read the book to watch the movie or watch the movie to understand the book—what a great dilemma to have!
Wuthering Heights is a classic novel by Emily Brontë, set in the mid-1700s, that has stood the test of time as a tragic love story. But I see it as so much more than that.
We meet a man, Mr. Lockwood, who comes to Wuthering Heights as a tenant and is welcomed by its host, Mr. Heathcliff—a surly and wildly erratic man with equally wild companions: Catherine Linton, his bitter daughter-in-law; Hindley Earnshaw, his quiet and sullen ward; and Joseph, an ancient, irritable servant. He is soon sent away to Thrushcross Grange, a few miles away, to take up residence. There, he meets Ellen “Nelly” Dean, the housekeeper. After an ill-fated night at the Heights—when Lockwood attempts to stay as a guest but gets locked in due to harsh weather and experiences a terrifying night, haunted by the perceived ghost of Catherine—he returns to the Grange and asks Nelly for the story of the girl with the same name. Nelly then begins to narrate the tale.
Nelly was the ladies’ maid to Catherine Earnshaw, mother of the present-day Catherine, when she lived at the Heights as a young girl with her brother Hindley and her father, Mr. Earnshaw. One day, her father returns from a trip with a young boy, whom he names Heathcliff. Quiet at first, the boy grows up tormented by Hareton and Joseph, but is loved deeply by Mr. Earnshaw and adored by Catherine. Hareton grows increasingly jealous of the love and attention this nameless, background-less boy receives, even though he is still treated as a servant. After their father’s death, Hindley marries and has a child—Hindley. Nelly is given the added responsibility of taking care of the poor, motherless child, while Hindley gambles away their home and his life to alcohol. Catherine, on the other hand, comes across the inhabitants of Thrushcross Grange—the Lintons, who are well-to-do—and grows close to Isabella, as well as develops a fondness for her brother, Edgar Linton. While she does love Heathcliff deeply, she cannot marry him because of his status and instead agrees to marry Edgar. This one decision sets off a cycle of revenge and heartbreak that claims many lives, beginning with Catherine herself.
This story of revenge spans two generations, largely driven by Heathcliff, who acts out of the heartbreak Catherine causes him—breaking his heart as hers breaks too. The tragedy that befalls nearly every character, stemming from the impulsive and flawed decisions of the protagonists, builds the deep pathos of the novel. It also makes us question the psychology of the characters and why they act the way they do. While we speak of the story itself, we cannot forget the contribution of the setting—the moors of England—which adds to the gloom and the ever-present sense of death, decay, and sorrow.
The movie released earlier this year, starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as the ill-fated Heathcliff and Catherine, covers only the first half of the novel. While it attempts to capture the essence of the story, it introduces its own interpretation of who is responsible for the devastation, while portraying the doomed lovers as victims of fate and circumstance. Both the book and the movie explore the class system—not just through actions, but through language and dialogue. The actors portray their roles beautifully, and we can clearly see how every action of Heathcliff is a reaction to his broken heart. Their love is powerful and passionate, though the movie depicts it far more graphically than the book—an understandable trade-off for covering only the first half, which focuses mainly on the older Catherine. It also nominates her brother Hareton, merging his character with Mr. Earnshaw’s, and sidelines Mr. Lockwood, who serves as the narrator in the book. Overall, both the book and the movie succeed in their own ways, leaving the reader and viewer respectively feeling uncomfortable, yet deeply moved by the loss of a love that could have been—one that defied class, societal boundaries and sense.
Favorite line: "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."
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