Éire Literature

I decided to spend my Valentine’s Day in the cinema with my roommate to watch the new Wuthering Heights film. I was obviously intrigued by the beauty of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, but every scene was breathtaking. As someone who analyzes every frame, I was distracted by all of the striking colors and symbols throughout the film. There were countless intricate details that added more depth than I was expecting, but the one that struck me the most was the detail of human skin, in particular, their backs. We see both Cathy and Heathcliff grow up together, and the beatings he got from her father as they both matured. The transition between childhood and adulthood is seamless using the scars on his back as the progression of age. 

After his first beating, we see Cathy carefully eyeing the lined blood stains through the back of his white, sheer shirt as it slowly fades into scars on the back of adult Heathcliff. The very intense zoomed-in shot shows every sweat bead and raised piece of skin. The film tends to focus on his back through different points of the story, and we finally see parallels on Cathy’s wedding day. Nelly is helping her into her wedding corset, and she proposes that they postpone the wedding. At this point, Heathcliff has been gone a year already, and Nelly tells her they cannot. She continues to tighten the corset and eventually goes to tie it when Cathy stops her, “Tighter.” Nelly tells her she won’t be able to breathe, and Cathy then repeats again, “Tighter.” The frame gets close enough to see the lines on her back from the already tight corset and the blood that is starting to stain the white fabric. This scene exactly parallels Heathcliff’s scars and the stomach-turning intricacy of human skin. It almost represents the grotesque closeness that both characters have with each other to the point of pain. Both characters look so bedazzling, but once the camera zooms in, we see every imperfection of sweat and blood. 

Heathcliff got his scars from deciding to protect Cathy, while Cathy inflicted them upon herself. I think this detail can be very telling for both of their characters. Heathcliff is selfless throughout most of the plot, doing anything he can to benefit Cathy. Cathy is shown to be egotistical, selfish, and impulsive in most of her decisions. Her pain is inflicted upon her because of her own decisions, while Heathcliff’s pain is because of Cathy’s decisions. Though neither of them is completely innocent regarding their constant miscommunication, these parallels of self-inflicted pain and forced pain are amazing insights throughout the film.