Fennell Recasts Wuthering Heights As Romance, Cuts Novel’s Dark Second Half
Emerald Fennell’s film, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, opened on 13 February and trims the novel’s second half while emphasizing erotic romance and sold-out Valentine’s screenings.
Overview
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation opened in theaters worldwide on 13 February, and its Valentine’s Day weekend costume screenings around the U.S. were already sold out.
The film focuses on the novel’s first half and downplays the book’s violent multigenerational revenge plot by omitting the second generation and much of Heathcliff’s abuse.
Scholars and critics reacted to the changes, with University of Liverpool lecturer Sam Hirst noting readers expect a romance and Loughborough’s Claire O’Callaghan saying Heathcliff’s treatment of children undercuts any claim to love.
Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel is set between 1771 and 1802, contains 34 chapters with Cathy dying in chapter 16 at about age 18, and the film casts Margot Robbie, 35, and Jacob Elordi, 28.
Fennell said she aimed to approximate how the book made her feel and to provoke a "primal response," while the film’s trailer calls the story "the greatest love story of all time," heightening audience expectations.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the film as a playful, morally transgressive entertainment, using loaded descriptors ('deranged,' 'deep‑seated perversion') and prioritizing evaluative judgment over balanced context. They juxtapose negative critic quotes as colorful source content while privileging the reviewer’s enthusiastic recommendation, marginalizing fidelity-based objections through emphasis and placement.
Sources (6)
FAQ
Fennell cuts the novel's second half, omitting the multigenerational revenge plot; alters character backgrounds like making Mr. Earnshaw less affectionate and Cathy having a deceased brother; adds explicit sexual themes and BDSM elements; removes supernatural and gothic aspects; reimagines Nelly as more villainous and Isabella as a willing participant.
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