Who Is the Villain of 'Wuthering Heights'?

This article examines Emerald Fennell's loose film adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic romance novel *Wuthering Heights*, highlighting how the director reinterprets the story's antagonist. Unlike the novel, where Heathcliff is portrayed as a dark-skinned, vengeful figure who inflicts suffering on multiple characters, Fennell's version minimizes his villainy and instead frames Nelly, the Earnshaw and Linton families' servant and narrator, as a manipulative instigator responsible for much of the tragedy. The film also omits the novel's second half and alters character relationships, presenting a sexually charged, BDSM-infused narrative focused on the tumultuous love between Catherine and Heathcliff. This reinterpretation challenges traditional readings of the story's true antagonist and reshapes the moral dynamics of Brontë's original work.