Emily Brontë’s 19th-century novel, Wuthering Heights, is making a buzz again. The reason? The movie adaptation, starring Margot Robbie (as Catherine Earnshaw) and Jacob Elordi (as Heathcliff), is set to release on February 13 this year. The original narrative centres on the Earnshaws and the Lintons, two families, and their tumultuous connection with Heathcliff, the foster son of the Earnshaws.
Heathcliff and Catherine are two of the most imperfect and achingly real characters. The tragic ending — depicting Heathcliff’s death, haunted by visions of Catherine Earnshaw, and his subsequent burial beside her grave — feels deeply connected to the circumstances they faced in their everyday lives. During an intense narrative, you may become so absorbed that you subconsciously adopt the thoughts, behaviours, and beliefs of a fictional character as your own. This goes beyond simply liking a character; it is a temporary blurring of your own identity with theirs.
With Heathcliff gone, the remaining generation — Cathy Heathcliff and Hareton Earnshaw — are free to marry, and the violence and cruelty that pervades their lives begin to fade. This offers a hopeful, albeit fragile, glimpse of peace. The final scene shows Mr Lockwood visiting the graves and finding it impossible to believe the two are not reunited in some form, whether in peace or as spectral wanderers on the moors. These are one-sided emotional bonds that develop when you feel a strong sense of intimacy or connection with a known figure, whether fictional or real. Through repeated exposure, you may feel as though you know them, and that familiarity can influence your behaviour and attitudes.
Heathcliff was found as a child, cast out by his foster brother, and tormented because of his low social status. If you have experienced feelings of being unwanted, rejected, or unfairly treated, his history of victimhood may strongly resonate with you.
As an orphan, Heathcliff spent his life seeking acceptance, a home, and a true family. If you have unmet needs for intimacy and connection from your own past, you might feel a powerful pull toward his yearning for a place where he truly belongs. Some readers identify with Heathcliff because he is rough, raw and real, in contrast to a more conventional, flawless hero. If you feel that you are not always clever or endlessly kind, his authentic, flawed nature may feel far more relatable.
The characters are realistic, the morals are ambiguous, and the novel often feels like it is simultaneously critiquing and exemplifying the ideals of Romanticism. While that is a difficult line for any author to walk, I feel Brontë does so brilliantly.
This brings me back to Heathcliff. I’m aware that there are problematic elements to the man, yet I still felt he was a sympathetic figure on the whole, albeit one you feel guilty for siding with. Why? He is a perpetual outsider who knows he will never receive the same acceptance as men like Edgar Linton, simply because of his origins and race. I believe he feels that Cathy was stolen from him by a class that he can never really belong to, regardless of how much money he makes. A major part of the novel is not so much about him seeking revenge on individuals, but about his desire to destroy a family that, to him, represents the elite.
It also doesn’t help how whiny and naive Isabella is. I do not condone Heathcliff’s actions towards her whatsoever, but he explicitly tells her before their marriage that he would never love her and that she should not be with him. Nothing forced her to run away with him. If his words and demeanour were not warnings enough — he injured her dog in a fit of rage before the marriage. Like, come on. Even the most delusional ‘I can change him’ type girl should have seen he was beyond redemption. Isabella also constantly comes across as deeply entitled in her complaining about the lack of maids and servants at Wuthering Heights, as well as the poor upkeep.
And, speaking of entitled wrecks, let’s talk about Hindley. He abused Heathcliff for years, was an alcoholic and gambling addict, dropped his son off a ledge (who would have died if it weren’t for Heathcliff), and was literally on the verge of murdering Heathcliff at one point. Should I despair that Heathcliff beat him and took advantage of him financially?
Now, don’t get me wrong, Heathcliff is not what you would call an emotionally mature, or even good person. But it is difficult to realistically see a scenario in which he ends up well-adjusted. He is left on the streets as a young child, grows up in an abusive home, and is constantly made to feel defective, different, and inferior. No wonder he has abandonment issues and violent outbursts. How is someone in his situation supposed to ‘get it together’? It’s not like he can see a therapist in Victorian England.
One thing Wuthering Heights portrays exceptionally well, and which has become an increasingly common theme in modern media, is generational trauma. Catherine has her own distinct response to the dysfunctional environment she grows up in, and yes, she is often deeply unlikeable because of it. One of the most common criticisms of the novel is that every character is insufferable. But isn’t that the point? That is exactly what generations of untreated emotional trauma look like.
Do I defend everything Heathcliff does? Absolutely not. But do I feel for him? Yes. He was clearly a victim of abuse, living in a world that constantly belittled him on account of his birth and race. And, I wish he had been able to receive some kind of help.
