The Irish Heathcliff as the (Unexotic) Other

In the 1992 film Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is markedly depicted as Other. Usually his otherness is categorized as Irish, an unexotic, if not logical, explanation for his origins and appearance. Cinematically, the easiest way for him to be portrayed deliberately as an Other is through appearance. As Ralph Fiennes as an adolescent and adult and Jon Howard as a child, the character’s skin is not just olive, but looks as if it has been smeared and darkened with dirt throughout the film.

Heathcliff, as played by Ralph Fiennes, physically represents the prejudices the British had towards the Irish: his skin appears more filthy than dark, like he is too savage to be aware of hygiene. Moreover, the olive tone of his skin immediately separates him from the fair Earnshaw family, of which he could never be accepted as a member. The straggly dark mane that hangs below his shoulders stays matted until he earns his fortune and buys Wuthering Heights, then it is brushed back as tightly as he is wound. The only surprising trait of Heathcliff’s is his eyes: flashing, hard and blue; they are a subtle reminder to today’s audiences that he was not Mediterranean or East Indian but probably black Irish.

It has been said in countless critical essays that Emily Brontë might have chosen to model Heathcliff on a foundling Irish child. In her article, “The Yahoo, Not the Demon: Heathcliff, Rochester, and the Simianization of the Irish,” Elsie Michie points out that “the depiction of Heathcliff, particularly when he first appears at the Heights, may have had its origin in the Victorian representations of the Irish children who were pouring into England in the late 1840’s as a result of the potato famine” (54).

The traditional negative stereotyping of the Irish by the English fits into this category: Heathcliff is emotionally and physically violent; he is not afraid to be overly and publicly affectionate in a way that appalls the Earnshaws; and even after his adoption, he prefers his appearance to remain rugged.

Heathcliff’s emotional instability is one of the hallmarks of his character: in the midst of an unsentimental, mostly unaffectionate English family, he ignores all “proper” Victorian body behavior. The Irish stereotype was driven by their supposed national penchant for alcohol, and with that comes the traits of irresponsibility, loutishness, and general impropriety, especially by nineteenth-century standards.

For example, after a family Bible reading, Cathy and Heathcliff are discovered lying together hugging in a bed, from which they the outrageously devout family servant, Joseph, drives them out. These physically demonstrative scenes indicate Heathcliff’s tenderness when it comes to Cathy; they also prove that Heathcilff cannot contain his feelings like a native Briton would.

Michie intermingles the concepts of Heathcliff as Irish and a devil by asking, “Does Heathcliff become brutish because of Hindley’s neglect, as the Irish may have been made chimpanzees by the English treatment of them? Or is Heathcliff inherently savage, as racial caricatures imply the Irish often are?” (55). In the novel, unlike in the movie, there are reminders of Heathcliff’s capacity for violence as a child. For example, he tells Nelly that he could throw Joseph off the roof and paint the front door in Hindley’s blood.

Yet in the film, as a child and a teenager, Heathcliff is seen as all sweetness and light; despite his wild appearance, he makes Cathy laugh and is very physical towards her. They are always touching, sometimes intimately—holding hands, sitting close together, cuddling in bed or on the moors. Despite the intensity Heathcliff is supposed to imbue, his touches are always light and gentle. He never touches Cathy roughly or holds her too tightly.

If Heathcliff is an Irish caricature, the stereotype holds up much more effectively as an interpretation in the novel. Under Kosminsky’s direction, many of the subtleties are lost, especially muted references in Heathcliff’s appearance and other character comments. In Hollywood, Heathcliff is less Irish than a generic Other.

~ by aboyd09 on April 21, 2009.