{"id":2224,"date":"2026-02-16T11:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/?p=582064"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"why-everyone-is-dragging-the-disgusting-portrayal-of-isabella-linton-in-wuthering-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/02\/16\/why-everyone-is-dragging-the-disgusting-portrayal-of-isabella-linton-in-wuthering-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"Why everyone is dragging the ‘disgusting’ portrayal of Isabella Linton in Wuthering Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emerald Fennell\u2019s Wuthering Heights<\/a> has only been out for a weekend, and it\u2019s already the most polarizing thing on our timelines, perhaps somewhat down to the treatment of character Isabella Linton.<\/p>\n

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Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the box office numbers are looking healthy, the discourse is becoming a total bloodbath. Between the quotation marks in the title distancing it from the book and the drama over Jacob Elordi\u2019s casting<\/a>, anyone who has read the 1847 classic was on edge long before it was released.<\/p>\n

Played by Saltburn\u2019s Alison Oliver, the film’s version of Isabella Linton is a massive departure from the source material, and people are calling it disrespectful to the character\u2019s tragic history.<\/p>\n

In Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s original novel, Isabella is a sheltered, pampered figure who is essentially kidnapped into a life of misery. She is a pawn in Heathcliff\u2019s revenge plot, suffering through a harrowing marriage that ultimately leaves her a traumatized single mother fleeing the Yorkshire moors. Her story in the text is one of domestic horror and survival, ending in her untimely death.<\/p>\n

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Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Fennell\u2019s adaptation has traded that trauma for something much more provocative. In a scene that has left audiences stunned, handmaid Nelly arrives at the Heights to find Isabella chained up like a dog. While the book mentions Heathcliff hanging Isabella\u2019s pet spaniel as a warning of his cruelty, the film takes this literally with the character herself.<\/p>\n

The controversy stems from Isabella’s reaction; instead of showing fear or a desire to be rescued, she crawls toward Nelly with a smirk and a “mad glint”, appearing to be a willing participant in a dark, submissive roleplay.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Elle<\/a>, Alison Oliver defended the choice as an “uncorseting” of the character, suggesting this version of Isabella finds power in being “undone” after a life of being treated like a child by her brother, Edgar. She described the shift as Isabella stepping into a new, albeit twisted, phase of her life.<\/p>\n

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Tore to shreds what the character was supposed to be. A survivor of abuse and single mother reduced to an s&m roleplay enjoyer barking on command for her husband… we’re not giving emerald fennell enough lashings for this https:\/\/t.co\/XehjuxtJQT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Advit (@advitwake) February 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n