Cathy’s Brother Is Dead and Her Father Is Ruined by Drinking and Gambling
Cathy’s father, known only as Mr. Earnshaw, brings young Heathcliff, a foundling of indeterminate origin and race (Brontë ambiguously describes him as “dark-skinned”), home to live with their family at Wuthering Heights.
In the film, the boy (Owen Cooper) arrives, and Cathy declares that she’s going to name him Heathcliff after her dead brother. Later, her father (Martin Clunes) is ruined by alcoholism and gambling, and Cathy seeks a way out of her dire straits by tipping her cap at wealthy Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif).
But in the book, Cathy’s 14-year-old brother Hindley is alive and envious of Heathcliff. He goes to university, marries Frances and has a son, Hareton.
After Earnshaw dies, it’s Hindley’s gambling problem that allows Heathcliff to manipulate the heir into making him manager of the estate. And when Hindley dies of alcoholism, Hareton is still very young and Heathcliff assumes control of Wuthering Heights.
