An Old Class Paper, or I Think I'm Funny

So, I was going through some of the papers I wrote in my undergraduate career, and I came across this short response I wrote on a movie adaption of Wuthering Heights for a particularly amusing course and professor. It certainly wouldn't be adequate for any graduate class, but I think I was quite clever and funny (I occasionally have my moments), so I thought I'd share it. I could do with a little humor just now, and I'm sure no one would object to some reason to laugh. I hope you enjoy it.

Light and Dark: Observing Hair in Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is notorious for being inadaptable to film, but Coky Giedroyc’s 2009 Wuthering Heights manages to capture the story in all of its depth, such as with the prominent themes of hatred and jealousy and how these very real feelings and character faults damage future generations. One particular aspect of the film that captures the character dichotomies and how these dichotomies lend themselves to the themes of the story is the seemingly trivial details of hair shades.

Heathcliff’s dark hair is striking and imperious, crowning his dark brooding nature. Even when he appears hospitable to the young Catherine Linton at the beginning of the film, his black hair hangs forebodingly over the interactions like a dark cloud. While Catherine Earnshaw’s dark hair does not compete with Heathcliff’s in dark color, it is wild in nature, implying her wild character that completes her match with Heathcliff. She is, in fact, more wild than he, until she goes to the Lintons’ where her hair becomes much more tamed in elegant hairdos of the day. This change symbolizes that she is no longer Heathcliff’s match. The third dark-haired character is Cathy’s brother Hindley Earnshaw. His heart seems, of the three, initially the blackest, though Heathcliff’s proves itself blacker. For the first part of his story, Hindley’s black hair is primly in place. This embodies his pride, as someone who is and will always be the highest and the true heir. It isn’t until he loses everything to the bitter Heathcliff that his hair ceases to be in its proper place.

In the first introduction of the Linton siblings, Edgar and Isabella, as young children, their hair practically glows with light. Their innocence and goodwill is reflected in their light hair. However, after marrying Cathy, Edgar’s hair slowly darkens in shade. Whether this is to match her wild nature or is a negative response to the persistent ghost of Heathcliff on their marriage, there is no denying a disturbing change from light to a darker, dirtier blonde. While we do not observe the older Isabella after raising her son Linton, her reddish blonde hair does not appear to change. Of course, her quick separation from the dark influence of Heathcliff would lend itself favorably to her hair color in ways her brother’s was not so fortunate.

Linton Heathcliff, Isabella’s son, had dark red hair. In the straightness and dark red of his hair, his paternal roots are clear, but the red stands out brightly, demonstrating his good mother’s enduring influence. It is fortunate for him that he was not raised by his father lest the red of his hair had vanished completely. This was not the case with Hindley’s son, Hareton Earnshaw who was not only the son of one of the blackest heads of hair in the film, but also was raised under Heathcliff’s dark cloud. However, the sunshine that soon follows him in the film compensates for his dark hair. His hair appears complimentary, not brooding, upon the entrance of the younger Catherine Linton and her light brown hair into his life. Catherine Linton is, of the younger generation, the most blessed in hair color. Her hair reflects the younger generations’ mixture of light and dark in their natures and manages, unlike the poor Linton Heathcliff whose contrasting locks did not survive the pressure, to find a balance in her life despite the grief, hatred, and scars of the previous generation.
The character’s interactions and changes are sketched by the detail in their hair shades, and the impact of our actions on the younger generation is clear in the resulting shades of hair. Through the details and observation of hair, Giedroyc’s adaption of Wuthering Heights places the emphasis on the younger generation of characters.