6 Biggest Differences Between ‘Wuthering Heights’ and Emily Brontë’s Novel

Following the release of Emerald Fennell’s new adaptation of Wuthering Heights, audiences are astounded at the differences between the movie and the original book. Based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights follows the twisted and intense romantic relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and her brother/pet/companion, castaway Heathcliff, who grow up together on the titular estate on the Yorkshire moors. Reviews of 2026’s Wuthering Heights are rather mixed, and the differences between it and the original story play a big part in why.

While book-to-film adaptations don’t necessarily need to be word-for-word recreations, readers often expect integral moments to be implemented into the story when it’s made for the silver screen. The new Wuthering Heights offers a lot of intrigue, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that there are several huge differences between it and Emily Brontë’s source material.

The Absence of Several Major Characters

Warner Bros. Pictures

The most immediately obvious difference between the movie and the book is that multiple important characters are missing. At a glance, Wuthering Heights seems to be mainly about Cathy and Heathcliff, but book readers will know that the story is more than just their romance. The most notable missing characters are as follows:

Hindley Earnshaw – Cathy’s older brother. In the film, Cathy mentions an older brother who has died when she explains she wants to name Heathcliff after him, and while it can be assumed this is Hindley, no name is ever uttered. Their mother, Mrs. Earnshaw, has also already died, too. Mr. Earnshaw dies early on in the book, but a lot of his character arc in the movie is instead taken from Hindley’s.
Cathy Linton – Cathy and Edgar’s daughter. Cathy dies while giving birth to her in the book.
Linton Heathcliff – The sickly son of Heathcliff and Isabella, who marries Cathy Linton before his untimely death.
Hareton Earnshaw – Cathy’s nephew and Hindley’s son, who is born two years before Cathy gets engaged to Edgar. In the book, Hareton marries Cathy Linton after Linton Heathcliff’s death. His mother, Frances, is also missing from the film.
Mr. Lockwood – The first narrator of the book, with whom Nelly shares the story of Heathcliff and Cathy’s disastrous romance.

The 2026 movie adaptation of Wuthering Heights fails to provide nearly half the story. The second generation is just as important to the overall story as Heathcliff and Cathy are, if not more so, because their side of the story explains the fallout of Cathy’s death and Heathcliff’s descent into madness.

Cathy and Edgar’s Baby Dies

Cathy sitting against a window pane, looking solemn as she stares off, in Wuthering Heights.

Wuthering Heights‘ ending is not the same as in the book. In fact, Cathy’s death is what motivates the whole novel in the first place. Brontë’s original work jumps back and forth in time as Nelly recounts the tale in the future, years after most of the characters we see in the film are dead. While it’s frustrating enough that there are missing characters, Cathy Linton’s absence is particularly unusual.

In the book, Cathy dies in childbirth with her daughter, and the fact that Cathy Jr. exists in the first place torments Heathcliff for years. The presence of the younger Cathy plays a huge part in the rest of Heathcliff’s arc. He kidnaps her, she marries his son, and she gets caught up in a strange legal battle with neither of her parents around (as Edgar also eventually dies).

Heathcliff and Cathy’s Affair

Cathy and Heathcliff embracing each other in the rain while in the woods in Wuthering Heights.

Brontë’s novel is careful in how it depicts Cathy and Heathcliff’s reunion. While some may interpret the text in a way that makes them believe the two have a physical relationship, the only thing readers can say with certainty is that their relationship after Heathcliff’s return is that it’s intense and psychological. The movie, however, throws the pair into the deep end, with several scenes dedicated to their lusty encounters on the moors.

In the book, Cathy doesn’t fall pregnant with Edgar’s child until later on, and so there is no questioning from Heathcliff over whether he is the father or not. Heathcliff also elopes with Isabella before this, too. While it may be an emotional affair, at least from Cathy’s point of view, the book never implies a sexual relationship between the pair, and this part of their story is something Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights takes in another direction.

Cathy’s Ghost

Margot Robbie as Cathy, leaning against the wall in her room, in Wuthering Heights.

Anyone familiar with Wuthering Heights, or even the song of the same name by Kate Bush, will know that Cathy’s ghost haunting Heathcliff is a major part of the story. However, the movie cuts off before audiences ever get to see this happening. There is an integral moment in the book in which Heathcliff opens Cathy’s grave and embraces her corpse, but the film doesn’t touch on this. In fact, during the graveyard scene, Heathcliff organizes for the side of Cathy’s coffin to be removed so that upon his own death, the two could essentially merge together.

The repeated attempts of Cathy’s ghost trying to get Heathcliff to let her in through the window aren’t there, either. Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff asks Margot Robbie’s Cathy to haunt him as he cradles her corpse at the end of the film, so there is at least a nod to this part of the story, but it’s not the same. Cathy’s ghost serves as a great representation of their obsessive connection, as even in death, Heathcliff continues to be haunted by the hold she still has on him, despite being dead.

The Lintons’ Introduction and Backstory

Edgar and Isabella having tea while sitting in their garden and chatting in Wuthering Heights.

Cathy and Edgar’s first meeting is another factor as to why the missing characters from the movie are so frustrating. Hindley and Cathy first meet Edgar and Isabella when they’re children, and Edgar and Hindley bully Heathcliff. In the book, while Heathcliff wants to get some sort of revenge from the beginning, it’s this interaction with Hindley and Edgar that really motivates him. Edgar only ends up with possession of Thrushcross Grange after his parents die of fever, and the estate is entailed to be inherited by either his or Isabella’s heirs.

In the film, Cathy meets Edgar for the first time after twisting her ankle near Thrushcross Grange. There is a similar event in the book when Cathy is an adult, where she is attacked by a dog and is taken in by Edgar to rest, but the two already know each other.

Another difference between the controversial Wuthering Heights movie and the novel is the Linton family tree. The film mentions that Isabella is Edgar’s “ward,” and while they may have grown up together like siblings, they aren’t actually related. This appears to be an attempt at creating a parallel between their relationship and that of Cathy and Heathcliff, with Mr. Earnshaw at one point pondering why Edgar hadn’t married Isabella himself. In the book, however, the two are simply brother and sister.

Heathcliff’s Race

Owen Cooper as the younger Heathcliff smiling at an off-screen Cathy in Wuthering Heights.

One thing book readers will be especially frustrated with in the new Wuthering Heights movie is the casting of Heathcliff. While Jacob Elordi’s performance in Wuthering Heights isn’t terrible, nor is Owen Cooper’s as a younger Heathcliff, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this version of Heathcliff doesn’t match the same description Emily Brontë provides in the book. In the novel, Heathcliff is stated as being “like a gipsy,” potentially of Spanish or Latin American descent. Of course, it’s worth noting that Wuthering Heights was published in 1847, and while it’s impossible to know exactly what Brontë was trying to define Heathcliff’s race as, it’s clear he wasn’t white.

Whitewashing casting in movies, but especially book adaptations, can be complicated. Changing the race of a character can sometimes work, especially if their racial identity isn’t directly connected to their arc, but in the context of Wuthering Heights, it’s important. His race is definitely a factor in the way Heathcliff is treated, and the abuse he experiences shapes and molds him into the unhinged adult at the end of the story. Heathcliff is an orphan with unknown origins, and he’s implied to be a stowaway, so while the movie doesn’t need to define exactly where he comes from, it’s still weird that it cuts out such an important part of the character’s story.

While these are the most notable differences between the 2026 Wuthering Heights movie and Emily Brontë’s original novel, there are others, too. For example, Margot Robbie’s Cathy is blonde, whereas book Cathy is established as having beautiful brunette locks, although this is a relatively trivial detail compared to some of the other changes. Which difference frustrated you the most, and why? And which other differences should audiences be aware of? Let us know in the comments.