The 11 biggest differences between the Wuthering Heights book and the movie

Emerald Fennell’s modern adaptation of ‘Wuthering Heights’

Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of ‘Wuthering Heights’ reinterprets Brontë’s classic through a modern cinematic lens, emphasizing visual storytelling while retaining the novel’s emotional depth and gothic atmosphere for contemporary audiences.

The film highlights the obsessive, passionate connection between Cathy and Heathcliff, offering a visually intense portrayal while making deliberate narrative choices that distinguish it from Brontë’s original story structure and thematic layers.

Heathcliff’s ethnicity and background

Casting Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff generated controversy over perceived whitewashing, as the novel describes him as a dark-skinned outsider whose heritage informs the story’s exploration of class, social prejudice, and marginalization.

Scholars note that Heathcliff’s ambiguous ethnicity intensifies the novel’s tension and otherness; Fennell instead emphasizes class distinctions, shifting the story’s social commentary and changing how audiences perceive Heathcliff’s outsider identity.

Focus on the first generation only

Fennell’s film covers only Cathy and Heathcliff’s story, ending after her death, while omitting the second generation of Earnshaws and Lintons, reducing the novel’s exploration of revenge, cyclical violence, and intergenerational consequences.

By narrowing the narrative to this first generation, the story becomes a tragic romance, foregoing Brontë’s darker themes of inherited trauma, persistent resentment, and the destructive effects of unresolved anger and obsession across families.

The removal of the narrator

Brontë’s novel is presented through Lockwood and Nelly Dean’s accounts, creating layered perspectives, but Fennell removes Lockwood entirely, simplifying the story into a linear format that prioritizes immediacy over reflective storytelling complexity.

This narrative adjustment eliminates the critical outsider perspective, narrowing context, but allows audiences to experience events directly, focusing on emotional immediacy rather than the reflective, multi-voiced storytelling present in the original work.

Supernatural elements omitted

The film omits the novel’s ghostly elements, including Cathy’s apparition to Lockwood and Heathcliff’s haunted visions, removing the eerie, gothic tension that contributes to the book’s supernatural atmosphere and otherworldly undertones.

By excluding these aspects, the adaptation emphasizes realism, focusing on characters’ psychological states and emotional interactions rather than spectral presences, creating a grounded story centered on human conflict and interpersonal dynamics.

Character ages and timelines

In the book, Cathy meets Heathcliff at six, and Edgar at twelve, while the film ages characters for dramatic effect, casting older actors and changing audience perception of innocence, youth, and formative development.

The timeline also shifts, with Heathcliff leaving and returning over five years instead of three, increasing romantic tension and dramatic intensity, offering a condensed, emotionally heightened version of the original slow-developing narrative.

Little-known fact: Jacob Elordi appeared as an uncredited extra in the 2017 Pirates of the Caribbean film long before his breakout success.

Hindley Earnshaw’s absence

Emerald Fennell removes Hindley Earnshaw entirely, erasing the character who abuses Heathcliff and functions as a major antagonist, and merges his traits into Mr Earnshaw, transforming the father figure into a morally complex, multifaceted presence.

Without Hindley, Heathcliff’s motivations appear less centered on revenge and oppression, altering the story’s power dynamics, reshaping the depiction of injustice, and changing the psychological context driving Heathcliff’s actions throughout the narrative.

Fun fact: Emerald Fennell asked Jacob Elordi to play Heathcliff because she thought he looked just like the Heathcliff illustration she first saw.

Reimagining Mr Earnshaw

Martin Clunes portrays Mr. Earnshaw as both nurturing and cruel, blending qualities of the original father and Hindley, creating a singular character responsible for shaping Heathcliff’s upbringing and influencing household authority and family tension.

This approach shifts the narrative weight of Heathcliff’s suffering from Hindley to Mr Earnshaw, increasing dramatic tension and emphasizing how parental influence and household power dynamics mold the characters’ emotional development.

Nelly’s altered role

Nelly Dean is portrayed by Hong Chau in Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, where she appears more manipulative and opportunistic, influencing Cathy’s choices rather than remaining a neutral narrator.

The adaptation heightens her interference, showing Hong Chau’s Nelly burning Heathcliff’s letters and ignoring Cathy’s illness, turning her into a secondary antagonist who intensifies tragedy.

Changes to the Linton family

Edgar Linton, portrayed by Shazad Latif, and Isabella Linton, have altered relationships in Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, with Isabella depicted as Edgar’s ward rather than sibling.

The absence of Edgar and Isabella Linton’s parents removes narrative layers about inheritance, social hierarchy, and family influence, simplifying Cathy’s decisions and character relationships compared with the original novel.

Isabella’s characterization

Isabella, played by Alison Oliver, is more self-aware and strategic in the film, manipulating interactions with Heathcliff, whereas the book presents her as naive and obsessive, unaware of her exploitation, which shifts her agency and narrative role considerably.

The film emphasizes her calculated and quirky traits, including consent gestures, highlighting Fennell’s reinterpretation of power dynamics and character interactions, contrasting the original depiction and reframing Isabella as a proactive, perceptive participant.

Explicit romantic content

Whereas the novel only hints at Cathy and Heathcliff’s connection, Margot Robbie’s Cathy and Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff emphasize intense passion, obsession, and volatile emotions through their interactions.

This adaptation transforms the restrained gothic romance into a vivid experience, with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi portraying the couple’s consuming love while preserving emotional intensity.

Want to read more about the ‘Wuthering Heights’ movie? Check out when Margot Robbie revealed that she almost didn’t land the lead in ‘Wuthering Heights’.

Cathy’s death and ending

In the novel, Cathy dies following childbirth, but the film depicts her death from sepsis after a miscarriage, consolidating events and maintaining the cyclical, tragic tone while adjusting the narrative for emotional and cinematic clarity.

Heathcliff does not visit Cathy directly; instead, her fevered imagination allows interaction with a younger version of him, condensing multiple encounters from the book into a single poignant, emotionally resonant sequence for audiences.

Craving some more to read about the ‘Wuthering Heights’ movie? Take a look at what really happens to Heathcliff in ‘Wuthering Heights’ and why his ending remains so unforgettable.

What stands out more to you, the bold changes made in Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ adaptation, or how faithfully the film preserves the story’s emotional core? Share your thoughts.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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