As an avid fan of classic novels, I have heard of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden multiple times throughout my life.
To my pleasant surprise, Burnett was also the author of another classic, A Little Princess. While I have not read these two classics, I have heard of them and know the basic plot of each. As I have not read the novel word for word, I decided to venture into it after rereading Jane Eyre.
I have read halfway into it, to the part where Mary Lennox meets her long-lost cousin Colin (as well as Dickon) and they spend time together in his bedchamber to the surprise of Martha, Mrs. Medlock and Dr. Craven. And I can’t continue further into the story because I don’t care about the characters.
Maybe it’s because I have just finished the works written by two of the most famous geniuses of English literature, Charlotte and Emily Bronte. Or perhaps it is because in order to fully enjoy the novel, I should have read it when I was much younger. Whatever the reason, I find reading Frances Burnett’s novel a task rather than an enjoyment. When reading the works of the Bronte sisters, I could not put the novels down. But I stop so often while reading The Secret Garden.
The novel definitely has lovely themes and concepts.
I conjecture that it narrates how Mary Lennox, a lonely young girl, finds comfort and happiness in an abandoned garden that blooms under her care. And I assume that Colin will also blossom, though I don’t know how. The concepts are lovely, but I find the writing bland. (And it’s interesting how, according to online sources, the public did not like The Secret Garden as much as they do today. Instead, more people liked and celebrated Burnett’s other works like Little Lord Fauntleroy. The Secret Garden steadily rose in popularity only after the author’s passing.)
Beautiful Korean cover designs of The Secret Garden. (Left: Designed By SONA DESIGN) (Right: Published by Willbooks & Designed By OIMU)
I haven’t enjoyed C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe either (though I respect the author). The most likely reason why I’m stuck in The Secret Garden is because the writing style of the author isn’t the style I personally enjoy, like that of C.S. Lewis. I prefer the styles of authors like the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, and Elizabeth George Speare.
Heathcliff remains a mystery from the moment he was introduced to the public in 1847 under Emily Bronte’s pseudonym “Ellis Bell.” What I mean is – his physical portrait/looks remain a mystery. His morality as well as his psyche are easily identified as that of the worst of mankind. (In the very last section of the Wuthering Heights published by Barnes & Noble Classics, it’s very interesting to read about the public’s reaction to Emily Bronte’s masterpiece, including those contemporaneous as well as those from later reviews. In addition, the introduction by Daphne Merkin sheds light on how those from Bronte’s time viewed it.)
Now, back to Heathcliff’s appearance. Throughout the novel, Heathcliff is repeatedly described as having a dark complexion. Here is Bronte’s own description of her character:
…dark almost as if it came from the devil” (Bronte 35).
He has dark eyes, dark skin, dark hair, and even dark aura. Other than descriptions like “dark-skinned gypsy,” “a little Lascar,” and having “thick brows,” there isn’t much known about Heathcliff. And as Emily Bronte leaves his parentage and origin up to our imagination, we are left with only little bits of clues as to who Heathcliff was and how he looked like. However, one thing is certain: Heathcliff is a mysterious character who looks different from the rest of the characters mentioned in the novel.
For more on how Heathcliff is described by Bronte, visit this page where some of her quotes are listed with the corresponding page numbers from the novel. The Reader’s Guide to Wuthering Heights offers other useful information as well – even the novel itself!
The classic continually intrigues readers across time and space, and there have been many movie and drama adaptations of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.
So in this post, I will share the many different portraits of Heathcliff from those adaptations. Plus, I will share which Heathcliff I personally find most like Heathcliff as described by Bronte (and how I imagined him).
The Reader’s Guide to Wuthering Heights actually provides a list of the different Heathcliffs in films & television shows throughout time. Here they are, in chronological order:
Heathcliff Throughout the Years
Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff (1939)
Laurence Olivier. Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Charlton Heston as Heathcliff (1950)
Mary Sinclair and Charlton Heston. Image: CBS Productions (now Paramount Global)
Richard Todd as Heathcliff (1953)
Yvonne Mitchell and Richard Todd. Image: BBC Television
Richard Burton as Heathcliff (1958)
Rosemary Harris and Richard Burton. Image: CBS Productions (now Paramount Global)
Keith Michell as Heathcliff (1962)
Claire Bloom and Keith Michell. Image: Getty Images. TV film produced by BBC.
Ian McShane as Heathcliff (1967)
Ian McShane. Image: BBC
Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff (1970)
Timothy Dalton. Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Ken Hutchison as Heathcliff (1978)
Ken Hutchison and Kay Adshead. Image: BBC
Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff (1992)
Ralph Fiennes. Image: Paramount Pictures
Robert Cavanah as Heathcliff (1998)
Robert Cavanah and Orla Brady. Image: WGBH (part of PBS)
Tom Hardy as Heathcliff (2009)
Tom Hardy. Image: WGBH (part of PBS)
James Howson as Heathcliff (2011)
James Howson. Image: Oscilloscope Pictures
Personal Favorite
These actors who played Heathcliff, from cinematic legends to newer actors, are all great as they deliver different interpretations of the antihero.
I’ve read and heard how much people l adore the performances delivered by Tom Hardy and Ralph Fiennes. No doubt, they are incredible! But I personally like Timothy Dalton’s Heathcliff the most. Here is a clip from YouTube showing Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff!
I wonder how Heathcliff will look like in future film/TV adaptations of Wuthering Heights! I’m sure there will be plenty more of the timeless classic. I do hope a director will attempt to portray Heathcliff as Indian, because descriptions like “dark-skinned gypsy,” and “a little Lascar,” to how Nelly tells Heathcliff to imagine himself as the son of a Chinese emperor and an Indian queen all hint some possible ties to India. Yet we’ve never seen an Indian Heathcliff!
Which Heathcliff is your favorite?
Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff and Anna Calder-Marshall as Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights (1970). Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
International Heathcliffs
There are many international adaptations/versions of Heathcliff. The ones that I could readily find were…
Yusaku Matsuda as Onimaru (based on Heathcliff) –Wuthering Heights (ε΅γδΈ, Arashi ga Oka). Image: Toho-Towa Company
Lucas Belvaux as Roch (based on Heathcliff) – Hurlevent. Image: AMLF
Heathcliff from the Korean manwha, Wuthering Heights published by Samsung Publishers.
One of the rare upsides to the current global pandemic is that it enables one to focus one’s leisure time on reading. The quarantine, which has been lasting almost an entire year now, forces a reluctant reader to open up a chapter book and devour its contents. I’ve never been an avid reader – reading has never been a top priority of mine. (I prefer going outside and exploring new places and meeting people). Yet, I do enjoy reading and have a number of titles which I treasure as my favorites. One of them is Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.
“Ellis Bell” was Emily Bronte’s pseudonym.
I’ve read it at least twice, but I feel like I’ve read it much many more times. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I happen to have a Korean manwha (comic book) of the said classic. Or maybe it’s because the novel has left such a strong impression on me the first time I read it. Whatever the reason may be, I feel as if I know the novel more than I do. (Perhaps it’s due to the fact that even after years since last reading it, I still vividly know the family tree of the Earnshaws and the Lintons without getting confused).
New Discoveries
The manwha (Korean comic) version of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. This is one of the Samsung Comic Classics Series published in South Korea. Image: Samsung Publishers
I am exactly on the seventeenth chapter as I speak, and it’s fascinating how refreshing it feels to reread it. I am rediscovering new points and focusing on things I’ve never realized or felt, including how among the many victims of fate (and of Heathcliff), Edgar Linton suffers the most.
Upon my first reading, my focus was on Heathcliff and Cathy, and how tragic their love story was. And despite his wicked ways, I felt sympathy for the former, as he suffered from severe child abuse committed by Hindley. But after finding out that Heathcliff does the same to Hareton, I ceased to sympathize. Yet, I still viewed Heathcliff as a victim as much as a perpetrator of evil. I guess I still do. But he really is more of a perpetrator than a victim.
But now I have this immense sympathy for Edgar Linton.
In my opinion, he was the one who suffered the most, a victim of both Heathcliff and Catherine. He grows up with his parents and sister Isabella and falls in love with his neighbor’s daughter, Catherine Earnshaw. He cares for her and showers her with love and attention. But her illness passes on to his parents when they take care of her and they both pass away when he is still young. He marries his love and treats her with utmost admiration and gentleness only to be betrayed by her when Heathcliff reenters the scene. As everyone who has read the novel knows, Catherine’s love for him was shallow and fake as opposed to her love for Heathcliff, which is shown as transcending death.
Heathcliff, fully aware of the fact, makes snide remarks in front of Edgar. Meanwhile, Catherine repeatedly chooses Heathcliff over her husband. Though she never admits it verbally, she shows that Heathcliff matters more to her, even passing out in his arms right before her death.
On top of this…
Heathcliff tricks Edgar’s little sister, Isabella, into a loveless marriage in order to use her as “Edgar’s proxy in suffering” (Bronte 143, Barnes & Noble Classics). Isabella passes away with a son she has with Heathcliff (most likely unwillingly), who is manipulated and neglected by his father until his early death. And as the cherry on top, Edgar’s only daughter, Catherine Linton, is also manipulated and ruined in Heathcliff’s evil designs.
As mentioned earlier, Edgar even lost his parents due to Catherine.
It was inadvertent, but nonetheless due to her as it has been described. And he also loses his sister, nephew, and daughter to the relentless, vengeful Heathcliff, who hates him to death because of Catherine. Because she, by her will and decision, forsakes him (her only love) to marry Edgar instead. Edgar’s home Thrushcross Grange is devoured by Heathcliff as well.
Catherine (Anna Calder-Marshall) and Heathcliff (Timothy Dalton) in Robert Fuest’s 1970 Wuthering Heights. Their love destroys everything around them, as well as themselves when Catherine abandons her soulmate, Heathcliff. Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Everyone in Wuthering Heights are, in one way or another, victims of fate.
Except, maybe, for Mr. Earnshaw who adopts Heathcliff on his whim without consulting his wife or asking his children. Hareton, Isabella, Linton, and Catherine Linton (Catherine Earnshaw’s daughter) are victims of Heathcliff who is a victim of Hindley, who is in a way a victim of Mr. Earnshaw’s imprudence and neglect. Heathcliff is also a victim of Catherine, who abandons him, her one and only soulmate, to marry the better-off Edgar.
But my greatest sympathies go to Edgar Linton, who fell in love and married his first love with her full consent and promise. Edgar adored his wife until the very end, but she hated him and coldly betrayed him. Rereading the novel, Edgar has suffered the most, losing his parents, sister, nephew, and daughter. All because of his wife and her selfishness and dishonesty along with her lover’s immorality and blinded hatred.
From Andrea Arnold’s 2011 Wuthering Heights. There are several film and drama adaptations of Emily Bronte’s novel, yet I find Arnold’s film the most aesthetic in terms of the atmosphere. Image: Oscilloscope Pictures
The Time Traveler is an upcoming author who holds great appreciation for both classic literature and history. The author aspires to publish historical fictions and other written works in the near future, in hopes of creating works that entertain, inform, and inspire.
The author also appreciates all things aesthetic and enjoys traveling around the world to learn and observe.
