Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights has been misread for nearly two centuries as a tragic romance—a Gothic love story on par with Romeo and Juliet. Movie adaptations, pop culture references, and literary romanticization have cemented Heathcliff as the quintessential brooding anti-hero, the ultimate “bad boy” with a tortured soul. But here’s the truth Brontë made abundantly clear: Heathcliff is a violent, manipulative, and morally corrupt figure, whose obsession with Catherine is not love—it’s pure toxicity.
The 2026 adaptation, starring Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie as Catherine, strips away the sentimentality of previous interpretations, showing audiences the character as he truly is. Unlike Laurence Olivier’s 1939 portrayal, which glamorized Heathcliff’s intensity and seduction, Elordi’s performance exposes the darkness at the core of Brontë’s Gothic masterpiece. Heathcliff is not a tragic hero; he’s a cautionary figure, a man whose obsession and vindictiveness bring ruin to everyone in his orbit.
Misreading a Monster
Generations of readers and viewers have been seduced by Heathcliff’s dark allure: his mysterious origins, his raw emotion, his wildness on the Yorkshire moors. Feminist critic Samantha Ellis, who describes herself as a “recovering Heathcliff addict,” explains that much of the appeal is the thrill of danger. Young readers are drawn to “the aloof, brooding bad boy,” from Rhett Butler to Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Heathcliff has all the hallmarks: a violent past, an untamed soul, and an irresistible intensity.
Yet, what many fail to see is that Brontë’s narrative never celebrates his actions. Heathcliff’s obsession drives him to grotesque extremes: digging up Catherine’s corpse years after her death, abusing Isabella Linton physically and emotionally, manipulating his own son Linton into a disastrous marriage, and exacting revenge on entire families. His love is not romantic—it is vengeful, possessive, and morally corrupt.
Jacob Elordi: Bringing Heathcliff’s Darkness to Life
Elordi’s approach to Heathcliff is strikingly modern and fearless. In interview he emphasized that he did not see Heathcliff as a misunderstood anti-hero, but as a man whose pain and rage create a cycle of destruction. “My dream was to tell the story truthfully,” Elordi said. “Heathcliff is not just brooding. He’s dangerous. His actions have consequences, and those consequences are devastating.”
This commitment to the text forces audiences to confront Brontë’s original intentions. The 1939 film adaptation, and many subsequent retellings, sanitized Heathcliff’s most monstrous acts, focusing on the romance while omitting the trauma he inflicts. Elordi’s performance restores that darkness, showing a character whose obsession is all-consuming, whose morality is absent, and whose violence shapes the entire narrative.
Toxic Obsession, Not Passion
Catherine Earnshaw’s relationship with Heathcliff is central to the novel, but it is anything but healthy. Catherine chooses to marry Edgar Linton not because she does not love Heathcliff, but because social convention, wealth, and status constrain her options. Heathcliff, upon her marriage, embarks on a calculated campaign of revenge, tormenting everyone around him, including the innocent Isabella Linton, whose life becomes a cautionary tale of fear and control.
Even the next generation suffers under Heathcliff’s schemes. His son Linton is manipulated into marrying the younger Catherine, giving Heathcliff control over the Linton estate. Neglect, emotional abuse, and coercion are all part of his plan. Brontë’s novel is a study in how obsessive desire, unchecked vengeance, and systemic inequities—particularly regarding class and gender—can produce horror in the guise of romance.
Why Brontë’s Gothic Horror Still Matters
In 2026, the Elordi-Robbie adaptation comes at a cultural moment where toxic masculinity, obsession, and abusive relationships are increasingly scrutinized. Popular culture has long glamorized the brooding anti-hero, from classic literature to modern TV and film, encouraging audiences to romanticize dangerous behavior. Heathcliff’s story is a stark reminder that obsession and cruelty are not aspirational—they are destructive.
By presenting Heathcliff’s darkness unapologetically, Elordi’s performance invites audiences to think critically about what we value in literature and on screen. It challenges the glorification of passion that comes at the expense of morality, consent, and empathy. In doing so, the adaptation aligns with Brontë’s Gothic vision: a haunting, morally complex narrative where love and obsession are inextricably intertwined with suffering and death.
The Monster Beneath the Romance
It is this duality that makes Wuthering Heights enduringly compelling. Heathcliff is magnetic, yes, but his magnetism is dangerous. He embodies the extremes of human emotion—the ability to love, to obsess, and to destroy. Brontë’s genius lies in presenting a character who is both fascinating and terrifying, inviting readers and viewers to grapple with the uncomfortable reality that some forms of passion are destructive rather than redeeming.
Jacob Elordi’s portrayal ensures that audiences in 2026 cannot forget this truth. Heathcliff is no longer just the brooding heartthrob of adolescence; he is a monster, a Gothic warning, and a reminder of the destructive potential of obsession unchecked by conscience. Wuthering Heights is not a love story to aspire to—it is a cautionary tale about the darkness at the heart of human desire.
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