The English novel “Wuthering Heights” (1847) by Emily Brontë, very popular, has been adapted about fifteen times for the cinema and television, mostly with marked biases that tend to romanticize the violence in the book. “Wuthering Heights”, directed by Emerald Fennell, currently on screen, is no exception.
A classic of literature, considered the last work of English Romanticism, “Wuthering Heights” has been the subject of numerous adaptations for television and film, including the latest one starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie. The first part of the book tells the story of Heathcliff, a bohemian from Liverpool, who arrives in the Earnshaw family and his tragic love story with his half-sister Cathy. The second part depicts Heathcliff’s revenge against the two families who humiliated him.
A recurring approach by filmmakers is to only adapt the first part of the novel, turning it into a cursed love story where the characters of Cathy and Heathcliff are smoothed over to portray them as victims of social and family norms, reminiscent of the mythical couple Romeo and Juliet.
Emily Brontë drew inspiration from the dark and gothic novels of her time, creating characters in common stereotypes to make them seem real, as highlighted by Michel Mohrt in his preface. This interpretation of the characters once brought to the screen is particularly ironic.
Adapting only the first part of the novel categorizes “Wuthering Heights” as a love story devoid of waves or originality when, in fact, it is not a love story but a “great metaphysical novel.” Emily Brontë portrays the struggle and downfall of most characters facing evil embodied by Heathcliff, a malevolent force that overwhelms almost everyone.
If Heathcliff receives favorable treatment, so does Cathy, whose symbolic violence is considerably sugarcoated from the beginning of the book. The recurring violence of Cathy portrayed in the adaptations is the scene where she explains that marrying Heathcliff would degrade herself, turning her betrayal into the justification for Heathcliff’s violence, like an original sin.
The adaptation choices to render Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship enviable for the audience divert from the reality of their unhealthy and violent bond, which as depicted in the second part of the novel is inseparable from the first part. By overlooking this reality, successive filmmakers have presented a romanticized view of violence to make it desirable, contrary to the book’s intended effect on the reader.
Regarding the romanticization of violence, it remains to be seen whether it perpetuates gender stereotypes. The repetition of images selling violence as the ultimate proof of love should collectively prompt us to question its portrayal.
