Understanding Heathcliff

Although films can never adequately represent novels, it is always worthwhile to give the movies a chance. Even if the movie is a genuine dud, it at least offers some sort of new perspective upon the original literature. In the case of Peter Kosminsky’s Wuthering Heights, the film does a fairly good job of portraying the plot and staying true to the dialogue, but it lacks the sheer depth that the novel encompasses. Even so, Kosminksky’s version does shed light upon Heathcliff’s death, a scene in the novel that we can only witness from the narrator’s limited point of view. In the film, we see Heathcliff’s death as the climactic conclusion to the complete manifestation of Catherine within his life.

The book allows for us to imagine such an overwhelming obsession only through the observations of Nelly Dean. But in the film, we are given wider access to Heathcliff’s thoughts and actions. In the film, for example, we are able to see Heathcliff dictating the letter that Linton is to send to young Cathy. As Heathcliff decides what the letter should say, his expression of longing (which goes hand in hand with the words of desire) illustrates his inability to separate Catherine from any aspect of his life. Indeed, it seems as if he is writing a letter to Catherine from Heathcliff, not to Cathy from Linton. This is different from the letter scene in the novel—here, we only learn what Nelly Dean thinks of the letters, and never actually “see” Heathcliff writing them. Thus, the scene in the film expands out understanding of Heathcliff’s complete and overwhelming obsession with Catherine.

The film also emphasizes Heathcliff’s inability to shed thoughts of Catherine by reflecting her very image in the face of her daughter. Although this goes against the novel—where Cathy shares only her forehead, eyes, and nostrils with her deceased mother— Kosminsky makes a wise choice increasing the level of likeness between the two Catherines. In fact, the parts are even played by the same actress. This aspect of the film highlights the fact that Heathcliff cannot escape his past and is continually haunted by tangible images of Catherine. The resemblance obviously has a profound effect upon Heathcliff, as we see that he cannot bear to have her in his sight.

As viewers, we share Heathcliff’s shock in confronting the uncanny resemblance between the two women, and thus share his pain in being reminded of the past. If it weren’t for their different hair colors, I would have trouble distinguishing between young Cathy and an apparition of the late Catherine. This creates an area of hazy identification, and thus serves to explain the profound effect Cathy’s presence has upon Heathcliff—severe enough, perhaps, to drive him to an earlier death. In the novel, for example, Heathcliff sneeringly tells Cathy, “Well, there is one who wont shrink from my company! By God! She’s relentless. Oh, damn it! It’s unutterably too much for flesh and blood to bear—even mine” (396). Clearly, Heathcliff is steadily reaching the point where even he must admit that the overbearing presence Catherine has within his life is taking a toll upon his ability to exist. In the film, this is emphasized by the constant presence of Cathy/Catherine, as well as in the expressions of longing and desperation upon Heathcliff’s face whenever he talks about her.

These aspects of the film (neither of which we can “see” by reading the novel) serve to enhance out understanding of Heathcliff’s death scene. In the novel, we are given only Nelly Dean’s account of how she finds Heathcliff after he has died. We are not there to witness his death, so we left to discern what we can from Nelly’s description of his open eyes, parted lips, and sneering teeth. In the movie, however, we are with Heathcliff when he dies. He enters the room as if led by the apparition of Catherine. As he opens the doors, the room floods with light, and suddenly he is embracing Catherine out on the moors. As spectators to this scene, we are able to see the driving force behind Heathcliff’s death—his desire to be with Catherine. Obviously, this idea can be conjectured from the text, but it highlighted and emphasized within the film. When Heathcliff talks about the “change” he is about to experience (in the novel) we are left to guess why that change is going to occur. After watching such a scene, and knowing that Heathcliff has been consumed with thoughts and images of Catherine since her death (as the film portrays), there is no doubt that it is the complete and total domination of Catherine within Heathcliff’s life that ultimately brings about the “change” Heathcliff experiences in his death.