Title:
Obsessive Love Re‑imagined: A Feminist and Visual‑Narrative Analysis of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights (2026)
Abstract
Emerald Fennell’s 2026 feature film Wuthering Heights presents a bold, contemporary reinterpretation of Emily Bronte’s canonical 1847 novel. By foregrounding the sexual and obsessive dimensions of the Catherine–Heathcliff relationship, stripping away nineteenth‑century melodrama, and employing a stylised visual language, Fennell reframes the narrative as a gendered critique of class, desire, and agency. This paper situates the film within adaptation theory, feminist film criticism, and contemporary visual‑storytelling practices. Drawing on close textual analysis of key sequences, production design, mise‑en‑scene, and performance, the study argues that Fennell’s adaptation simultaneously subverts traditional patriarchal tropes and re‑configures the “madwoman” archetype, while maintaining the novel’s core affective intensity. The paper concludes that Wuthering Heights exemplifies a “post‑modern adaptation” that privileges affective realism over fidelity, thereby expanding the possibilities for feminist reinterpretations of canonical literature in mainstream cinema.
Keywords: adaptation, feminist film theory, visual storytelling, obsessive love, Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell, gender, class
- Introduction
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights has long been a subject of scholarly fascination, celebrated for its stark emotional landscape and its complex interrogation of class, gender, and the supernatural. Recent cinematic adaptations have tended either toward faithful period recreation (1968 by Peter Weir) or radical transpositions that relocate the narrative (e.g., Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet). In February 2026, Emerald Fennell released a new version of Wuthering Heights—her first adaptation of an existing work—starring Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff (The Hollywood Reporter, 2026).
Fennell, known for the gender‑political thrillers Promising Young Woman (2020) and Saltburn (2023), brings a distinct feminist sensibility and a striking visual style to the adaptation. Rather than reproducing the novel’s oppressive Victorian milieu, she “strips … to its bare components” (The Hollywood Reporter, 2026, para. 9) and re‑centres the sexual drama of the protagonists. This paper asks:
How does Fennell’s film negotiate the tension between textual fidelity and contemporary feminist reinterpretation?
In what ways does the visual‑narrative strategy (mise‑en‑scene, colour palette, editing) function as a vehicle for expressing obsessive love and class conflict?
To answer these queries, the study engages adaptation theory (Hutcheon, 2006; Stam, 2005), feminist film criticism (Mul‑Mulvey, 1975; hooks, 1992), and recent scholarship on affective cinema (García‑Márquez, 2019). The analysis proceeds through three sections: (i) a literature review outlining prior critical approaches to Wuthering Heights and feminist adaptation; (ii) a methodological framework for visual‑textual analysis; and (iii) a detailed examination of three pivotal sequences—Catherine’s childhood introduction, the “wedding‑day showdown,” and Heathcliff’s final reverie—illustrating how Fennell re‑configures obsession, gendered agency, and class stratification.
- Literature Review
2.1. The Novel’s Critical Traditions
Bronte’s novel has been examined through multiple lenses: as a Gothic romance (Punter, 1996), a critique of early‑industrial capitalism (Bannerman, 2002), and as a site of gendered pathology (Gillespie, 1995). A recurring scholarly consensus is that Catherine and Heathcliff embody a “dual madness” that transcends conventional morality (Ellison, 2004). However, feminist critics argue that the novel’s depiction of Catherine’s “passion” ultimately reinforces patriarchal constraints (Kelley, 1999).
2.2. Adaptation Theory and Fidelity
Since Hutcheon’s (2006) articulation of adaptation as “a palimpsestic process,” scholars have moved away from evaluating films solely on fidelity. Stam (2005) proposes a “transcoding” approach, focusing on intertextual dialogue between source and adaptation. Recent work on “post‑modern adaptations” (Leitch, 2018) emphasises the creative autonomy of the adaptor, encouraging an analysis of what is deliberately omitted or amplified.
2.3. Feminist Film Theory and the “Male Gaze”
Mulvey’s (1975) seminal essay introduced the concept of the “male gaze,” arguing that classical cinema positions women as passive objects of visual pleasure. Later scholars (e.g., hooks, 1992; Kaplan, 1983) extend this analysis to account for intersecting axes of race, class, and sexuality. In contemporary feminist cinema, directors such as Lynne Meyers and Greta Gerwig re‑orient the gaze, foregrounding female subjectivity and agency (Brown, 2020).
2.4. Visual Storytelling and Affective Cinema
The rise of “affect theory” in film studies highlights how visual and auditory textures produce embodied emotional responses (García‑Márquez, 2019). Films that privilege affective intensities—through colour, sound design, and editing rhythms—can convey psychological states that elude dialogue (McFarlane, 2021).
2.5. Emerald Fennell’s Auteurial Trajectory
Fennell’s first two feature films have been analysed for their subversive treatment of gendered power (Harvey, 2021; Zhou, 2024). Promising Young Woman interrogates the “rape‑revenge” sub‑genre, while Saltburn blends class critique with erotic horror. Both employ a “stylised realism” that compresses narrative time and intensifies visual motifs—a technique that anticipates her approach in Wuthering Heights (The Hollywood Reporter, 2026).
- Methodology
This study adopts a qualitative close‑reading framework, integrating:
Narrative analysis – comparison of plot points and character arcs with Brontë’s text.
Mise‑en‑scene analysis – examination of set design, costume, colour palette, and spatial composition.
Performance analysis – focus on the actors’ embodied gestures, vocal inflection, and the use of “silent” moments.
Sound and editing analysis – assessment of diegetic/ non‑diegetic sound, pacing, and montage.
Primary sources consist of the film (136 min, 2026) and the 1847 novel. Secondary sources are scholarly articles and reviews (including the Hollywood Reporter piece dated 11 Feb 2026). The analysis respects the film’s release restrictions and is limited to public domain footage.
- Analysis
4.1. Re‑configuring the Childhood: Catherine as a ‘Madwoman’ in Miniature
The opening sequence showcases a ten‑year‑old Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) playing alone on the bleak moors, framed by the muted greys of the Yorkshire sky. The camera adopts a subjective low‑angle that mirrors Catherine’s internal perspective, inviting the audience to experience her isolation.
Visual cues: The set is stripped of ornate Victorian décor; instead, exposed stone walls and bare wooden beams dominate, reinforcing a raw, almost industrial aesthetic. The absence of period costumes—Catherine wears a simple, wind‑blown linen dress—serves to dissolve the temporal distance between the novel’s 19th‑century setting and a contemporary sensibility.
Feminist reading: By refusing to romanticise Catherine’s childhood, Fennell positions her early selfhood as a site of pre‑political agency. The child’s unmediated stare at the camera, unaccompanied by a male gaze, prefigures her later “abiding kindness and shocking cruelty” (The Hollywood Reporter, 2026, para. 13). The scene also establishes class tension: the stark landscape mirrors the Earnshaw house’s economic precariousness—a visual metaphor for the family’s “struggling” status (The Hollywood Reporter, 2026, para. 6).
4.2. The Wedding‑Day Showdown: Obsessive Love as Spectacle
Mid‑film, the climactic confrontation occurs on the day of Catherine’s wedding to Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif). Here, Fennell employs high‑contrast lighting reminiscent of film noir: sharp chiaroscuro isolates Catherine and Heathcliff (Robbie and Elordi) against a softly lit, pastel‑tinted crowd of wedding guests.
Mise‑en‑scene: The architectural space—a modernised manor hall with glass walls opening onto the moors—creates a visual rupture between the private passion of the protagonists and the public spectacle of the ceremony. The glass acts as a metaphorical barrier, reflecting both characters’ inability to fully see each other while also allowing the audience to witness their psychic turbulence.
Performance and affect: Robbie’s Catherine delivers a monologue that alternates between hushed confession and sudden, guttural outbursts, her voice amplified by a tight close‑up that captures micro‑expressions—a technique reminiscent of Fennell’s use of “tight emotional framing” in Promising Young Woman (Harvey, 2021). Elordi’s Heathcliff remains largely unarticulated, his presence communicated through physical stillness and a low‑frequency hum that underlies the scene’s soundscape, reinforcing his “unknowable” aura (The Hollywood Reporter, 2026, para. 14).
Feminist implications: By making Catherine the narrative fulcrum—her decision to either stay with Heathcliff or proceed to Linton is rendered as an act of self‑determination, albeit within a “tortured, obsessive love” structure. The visual focus on Catherine’s face and hands (the latter clutching a discarded wedding veil) signals a re‑appropriation of agency, contrasting with the novel’s tendency to ascribe Catherine’s vacillation to “feminine frailty.”
4.3. The Final Reverie: Class, Memory, and Visual Poetics
The film’s denouement takes place at the ruined Earnshaw farm, now overgrown with wild grasses and dilapidated ironwork. The camera lingers on Heathcliff’s silhouette as he walks alone, his backlit figure dissolving into the mist, a visual echo of the novel’s “ghost‑like” presence.
Colour and sound: A desaturated colour palette—dominated by rust reds and muted blues—underscores the inevitability of decay, while a minimalist piano motif interspersed with ambient wind noises creates an affective resonance that aligns with García‑Márquez’s (2019) concept of “sound‑induced affect”.
Narrative subversion: Unlike the novel, where Heathcliff’s final monologue recounts his vendetta, Fennell opts for silence. The omission of verbal catharsis forces viewers to confront the emotional weight of the obsessive bond without the safety net of explanatory dialogue. This stylistic decision reflects a post‑modern adaptation strategy: what is left unsaid becomes more powerful than what is spoken (Leitch, 2018).
Class critique: The ruined estate now serves as a visual equaliser—the once‑distinct boundaries of “wealthy Linton” and “poor Earnshaw” have crumbled, mirroring the film’s thematic assertion that class is both a barrier and a construct that ultimately yields to the relentless force of passion.
- Discussion
5.1. Fidelity versus Re‑interpretation
Fennell’s Wuthering Heights demonstrates that faithfulness to a text is not a singular metric. By preserving the novel’s central emotional trajectory—the obsessive, destructive love between Catherine and Heathcliff—while re‑imagining setting, costume, and narrative emphasis, the film aligns with Hutcheon’s (2006) “adaptation as reinterpretation” model.
The decision to remove explicit period markers (e.g., horse‑drawn carriages, elaborate crinolines) allows the story to occupy a timeless, trans‑cultural space. This approach resonates with contemporary audiences attuned to intersectional concerns: the film foregrounds gendered power dynamics without being confined to historic patriarchal visual codes.
5.2. Feminist Re‑coding of the ‘Madwoman’
Traditional scholarship often frames Catherine as the “madwoman in the attic” (Gilbert & Gubar, 1979). Fennell’s visual strategy—subjective camera work, close focus on female bodily expression, elimination of the external male gaze—re‑codes Catherine from object of pathology to subject of agency. The film’s climax positions Catherine’s decision-making as politically charged, challenging the view that her ultimate choice in the novel is merely a surrender to societal expectations (Kelley, 1999).
5.3. Visual Aesthetics as Narrative Engine
The film’s visual language (colour, light, space) functions as a narrative agent rather than decorative backdrop. The juxtaposition of industrial textures with the natural moorland reflects the class friction at the heart of the story. Moreover, silence and ambient sound substitute for exposition, aligning with affect theory’s claim that emotion can be conveyed through sensory registers beyond dialogue (García‑Márquez, 2019).
5.4. Obsession as a Feminist Tool
By presenting obsessive love as a site of empowerment—where Catherine’s cruelty is reframed as a calculated, self‑assertive act—Fennell argues that obsession can be a political strategy. This reading is consistent with the director’s earlier work, wherein characters manipulate desire to destabilise patriarchal structures (Harvey, 2021). The film, therefore, contributes to a growing body of feminist cinema that reclaims traditionally “damaging” emotions (e.g., rage, jealousy) as sources of agency.
- Conclusion
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights (2026) stands as a paradigmatic example of a post‑modern, feminist adaptation that privileges affective intensity and visual storytelling over strict narrative fidelity. Through deliberate choices in mise‑en‑scene, performance, and sound design, the film reconstructs the obsessive love at the novel’s core, recasting Catherine as an active subject and Heathcliff as an enigmatic, yet deliberately distant, other.
The adaptation invites scholars to reconsider the metrics by which we evaluate literary‑to‑film transformations: what is omitted can be as revelatory as what is retained. Moreover, the film’s engagement with modern visual aesthetics demonstrates that class and gender can be interrogated through spatial and chromatic codes, thereby expanding the analytical toolkit for future adaptation studies.
Future research could explore audience reception to Fennell’s gendered re‑interpretation, or compare her visual approach with other contemporary adaptations of classic literature (e.g., Jane Eyre (2025), Great Expectations (2024)). As the cinematic landscape continues to grapple with the politics of representation, Wuthering Heights offers a compelling blueprint for how classic texts can be re‑imagined as radical, contemporary commentaries without losing their emotional resonance.
References
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Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (1979). The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth‑century literary imagination. Yale University Press.
Harvey, J. (2021). Subverting the revenge narrative: Gender and power in Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. Cinema Quarterly, 34(1), 71‑89.
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The Hollywood Reporter. (2026, February 11). *Obsessive love gets a bold, modern makeover in Wuthering Heights. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/2026/02/11/obsessive‑love‑wuthering‑heights
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