‘Wuthering Heights’ Through the Years, from Olivier to Elordi

Emily Brontë’s 1847 tale binds Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in a relationship as wild and elemental as the moors. Calling it merely a love story doesn’t capture the way passion and resentment pull them together, tear them apart and ripple through generations, even beyond death.

Over the 179 years since Brontë’s Gothic classic appeared, Heathcliff and Cathy have been revived in many guises. Earlier screen versions leaned into the social constraints that doomed the pair; more recent takes often fetishize the destructive romance. Six notable adaptations across 85 years illustrate dramatic shifts in temperament, power and portrayal.

wuthering heights, emily brontë, heathcliff, catherine earnshaw, moors, gothic classic, olivier, elordi, adaptations, destructive romance