Cathy and Heathcliff: the greatest love story?
Posted by Jenni James on 19 February 2026
As the conversation heats up about the new adaptation of Wuthering Heights, we want to consider how we can use these moments in popular culture to generate constructive discussions about healthy relationships and abuse.
The latest retelling of Emily Brontë’s classic novel has been controversial from the outset. Emerald Fennell’s film (released as “Wuthering Heights”, quotation marks included) has sparked criticism on a number of fronts: anachronistic costumes, whitewashing, and concern over Fennel’s handling of class dynamics, to name just a few.
Fennell has acknowledged that her adaptation of the story is exactly just that – an adaptation.“I can’t say I’m making Wuthering Heights. It’s not possible. What I can say is I’m making a version of it”, Fennel explained. But the concern here isn’t just Cathy Earnshaw in a white wedding dress; it’s promoting a dark tale of ownership, abuse and control as the ‘greatest love story of all time’.
A story of obsession, control and abuse
The relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff is obsessive and all-consuming. Their infatuation with one another isn’t the pattern for a healthy, loving relationship, but is a red flag for toxicity. Their lines echo phrases like “I can’t live without you”; “we need each other to survive”; “I’m nothing without you” – the kinds of declarations that are commonly used by abusers to exert control.
“I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”
Even more clearly than this, Brontë’s novel describes how Heathcliff goes on to harm the woman who does become his wife. Cathy marries someone else, so in spite, Heathcliff does too – Isabella, who he physically and psychologically abuses. He deprives her of food and personal care and isolates her from family.
Fennel’s film, in step with many other adaptations of the story, keeps these toxic behaviours, but presents them as romantic, passionate, erotic. Control and abuse become desirable elements of romantic love.
Framing is essential
The answer to this problem isn’t to stop telling stories like Wuthering Heights. When properly handled, narratives that explore these issues can be hugely helpful in opening up honest conversations about abuse, increasing awareness and enabling us to recognise what’s healthy and unhealthy in relationships. The problem here, then, is that Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”, along with many adaptations before it, has stripped the story of this impact, dressing it as an erotic romance rather than an exploration of complex themes like class, ownership and inequality.
Having good conversations
So what do we do in response? We might have friends who’ve seen the film and bought into its ideal of an obsessive, all encompassing romance. How can we have positive, constructive conversations that address these issues without shutting people down?
Here are some suggestions for questions you could ask to get good discussions going:
- What do you think it would actually be like to have a relationship like Cathy and Heathcliff’s? How would it really make you feel?
- Why do you think we are drawn in by the idea of being so infatuated with someone, or having someone feel so intensely about us?
- If you saw someone you cared for becoming involved in a relationship with similar levels of obsession, would you be happy for them, or worried?
- Are there any other books or films that portray romantic love in a healthier, safer, more satisfying way? What did those relationships look like?
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