Above: Photo from my Wuthering-Heights-inspired self-portrait-photoshoot
To be honest, I don’t remember how old I was when I read Wuthering Heights for the first time; but I was old enough to adore it, decide I wanted “She burned too bright for this world” on my gravestone, and eagerly seek a Heathcliff to my Catherine.
Big cringe.
Rereading it today, I was shocked. How did I so badly miss the point? How could I ever have wanted a Heathcliff?
(To be honest, this explains a lot about my dating life up until Ben saved me.)
How did this go from one of my favorites, to…well, a not so favorite? My friend was supposed to read it with me, but she got so bored and hated everyone too much, so she gave up (and I don’t blame her; I’m just petty and wanted to hate on the movie from a knowledgeable place).
Pssst…check out this blogpost where I score a Wuthering Heights movie with Indie Rock! Includes more photos from my Wuthering Heights shoot as well.
An entertaining one-sentence summary
Two emotionally immature people (Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff) take turns spiting one another only for Catherine to commit the ultimate act of pettiness, LITERALLY DYING just so Heathcliff actually misses her even though the Heathcliff isn’t all that great and learns NOTHING and instead wreaks havoc on the two families the novel centers on before cradling Catherine’s dead corpse in his arms.
A soundtrack (assembled by me)
More Entertaining Short Summaries
The English Moors
Slapping the nanny
Gossip
Cantering away on a horse bc someone says it would degrade them to marry you
Spite, pettiness, and other childish fun
People falling in love for zero reason
Catherine being obviously still in love with Heathcliff despite being MARRIED
Literally just the worst people—did I actually like anyone?? (Answer: NO)
Overall Thoughts
I appreciate Wuthering Heights because of what it was—a story written by a woman, when women “couldn’t write.” Charlotte and her sisters, Anne and Emily, published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell to avoid the prejudices that would come along with being women writers. They also wrote on things too “dark” for women writers (blech).
I also appreciate that the tales have morality and justice.
In Wuthering Heights, Catherine and Heathcliff lose themselves to their passion and have their comeuppance in untimely deaths and unfulfilling lives. In Jane Eyre, Jane refuses to marry a man who already has a wife. In Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the woman wrestles with being a good Christian wife while being tormented by an evil husband.
They also aren’t afraid to deal with serious themes. One of my biggest critiques of the 2026 Wuthering Heights movie is that Heathcliff is white—come on! It was right there for Hollywood! In a world that insists on bringing more diversity to the screen, something I am a fan of if the story benefits from it and it’s not just a nod to woke audiences (which is far more of a money-grab that good-natured hearts), they totally whiffed the ball here.
Instead, Edgar is Indian—Are. You. Kidding. Me?! The whole point is that people are racist to Heathcliff because of his skin color, bullying him and pushing him off a precipice that ends in him freefalling into a monster. People accept Edgar Linton and Isabella because they are white and have fair features—even Catherine, who famously has dark hair (unlike Margot Robbie, wink wink), bemoans the fact that she’s not blonde like Isabella.
(6-year-old-me relates. The moment I saw Odette in Swan Princess, I bemoaned my brown hair for a full five minutes.)
Can you imagine discussing race in the 1800s? And tackling other dark topics such as death in childbirth, alcoholism, and even domestic violence? Isabella marries Heathcliff, but after he abuses her physically, she doesn’t put up with it. She hightails it out of there, moving to London with their child. Good for her!
Overall, I’m glad that my grasp on the book has evolved. I was always rooting for the wrong guy—for Heathcliff, for the Phantom of the Opera, for the proverbial Beast of a man. I can see how my understanding of love is actually healthy now. But it may come as no surprise that Bella was reading Wuthering Heights in the famous “classic” Twilight, and she compares Edward to Heathcliff. Maybe that’s where my illiteracy began?
Rating
1.5 out of 5 stars
I only suggest you read it since it’s considered a classic and it’ll up your Bookworm Score amongst the bibliophiles. But, honestly, if you make it through life without passing away the time drenched in exposition entrenched in quotation marks, you won’t be upset when you reach the pearly gates.
Read This Instead: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is an underrated book, often passed over for Jane Eyre (which is a bit slow at the beginning, but another one of my favorites and far better than WH) and Wuthering Heights. Read my review (and find out how IT LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE) here.
Wallflower Garden 
Leave a comment