‘Wuthering Heights,’ the beloved gothic novel by Emily Brontë, has always been a polarizing masterpiece. It’s infamous for its twisted tale of love, revenge, and trauma. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Cathy, two characters embroiled in an emotionally chaotic relationship.
Heathcliff, a brooding, dark-skinned man with a mysterious background, rises from being an abused foster child to a vengeful force that haunts the Earnshaw and Linton families. Now, a new adaptation is in the works, and fans of the novel are not thrilled. In fact, some are absolutely fuming.
Readers Point Out Heathcliff’s Mysterious Roots In ‘Wuthering Heights’
Directed by Emerald Fennell is known for her Oscar-winning work on ‘Promising Young Woman‘. The latest version of ‘Wuthering Heights‘ has cast Margot Robbie as Cathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff.
The casting of Heathcliff has always been a point of contention. Historically, adaptations have struggled to properly represent him as the novel described. Heathcliff is portrayed in ‘Wuthering Heights‘ as a character with dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin – likely of Roma or Gypsy descent.
Casting a fair-skinned Australian actor like Elordi, best known for his roles in ‘Euphoria‘ and ‘Saltburn‘, is stirring up plenty of controversy.
On social media, fans have voiced their frustrations. The Independent’s film critic, Clarisse Loughrey, bluntly questioned the casting by tweeting, “Did anyone actually read the book before deciding this?“
Others followed suit, with one X user pointing out: “Heathcliff is described as a dark-skinned brown man in the book and a major plot point is that he was subjected to racist abuse by his adopted family but yeah sure Jacob Elordi is perfect!“
Age Ain’t Just A Number
The casting drama doesn’t end there. Margot Robbie’s casting as Cathy has also raised eyebrows, particularly due to the significant age difference between the actors and their characters.
In Brontë’s novel, Cathy is still in her teenage years, while Heathcliff is in his early forties by the story’s end. Robbie, who’s 34-years-old, doesn’t exactly fit the description of a teenage Cathy, and fans haven’t been shy about pointing that out.
“Heathcliff is described as ‘dark-skinned’ This is SO weird, his being a POC is one of the major themes in the novel??? I hope there’s enough backlash for a recast, this is insane,” wrote one social media user. Another critic sarcastically added: “White Heathcliff and 34-year-old Cathy, and they both look like they belong on Instagram….”
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The backlash extends to accusations of Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with casting A-listers over actors who might be a better fit for the roles. “This is the most viewbait casting ever. How on earth is she Cathy & him Heathcliff? Looks, age, accents…??? Good English classics are too few leave them alone,” complained one user.
This isn’t the first ‘Wuthering Heights‘ adaptation to spark controversy, but the internet has a louder voice than ever. Whether Fennell’s version will stay true to the source material or go down the route of many past adaptations remains to be seen. What’s certain, though, is that fans of the novel won’t be quiet about it.
