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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Keep both heart and hand in your possession, till you see good reason to part with them; and if such an occasion should never present itself, comfort your mind with this reflection: that, though in single life your joys may not be very many, your sorrows, at least, will not be more than you can bear. Marriage may change your circumstances for the better, but in my private opinion, it is far more likely to produce a contrary result.
Anne Brontë's Tenant of the Wildfell Hall welcomes its readers with both the horrors and the pleasures of solitary life—of solitude itself.
While what Brontë's heroine, Helen Graham, had said was right about how no one can be genuinely happy in eternal solitude, being stuck in an unlikely, disrespectful, and constraining union is just as dispriting—if not, more. This novel delivers various perspectives on marriage and bachelorhood, showing the importance of regarding one's freedom and single life with high value. It highlight the couraganess of emancipation—the fulfilling hope of new beginnings it brings—and the importance of developing virtues, principles, and standards on different aspects of life and love.
This my first read from Brontë Sisters and it might still be too early to say anything certain but I honestly think that Anne and her works will be my favorites.
A 4.5 star read.
While what Brontë's heroine, Helen Graham, had said was right about how no one can be genuinely happy in eternal solitude, being stuck in an unlikely, disrespectful, and constraining union is just as dispriting—if not, more. This novel delivers various perspectives on marriage and bachelorhood, showing the importance of regarding one's freedom and single life with high value. It highlight the couraganess of emancipation—the fulfilling hope of new beginnings it brings—and the importance of developing virtues, principles, and standards on different aspects of life and love.
This my first read from Brontë Sisters and it might still be too early to say anything certain but I honestly think that Anne and her works will be my favorites.
A 4.5 star read.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is epistolary in nature, following both Gilbert Markham and Helen Maxwell/Huntington/Graham's journey in love and loss. Gilbert falls in love with Helen, an enigmatic recluse living with her bright-eyed son and old maid. Through letters, Helen reveals her past, portraying her initial reluctance of marriage and its transactional nature in favour of love, which ultimately becomes her downfall.
Love quickly turns to resentment. Arthur Huntingdon poisons himself with alcohol, poisons their marriage with adultery, and poisons their child through encouragement of egregious behaviour. Helen's internal war between adoration and antipathy in the light of her Christian faith leaves her guilt-ridden; her only solace - her son - being taught to hate her.
Anne Brontë then writes against 19th century beliefs on the sometimes brutal constancy of marriage as Helen decides to leave her husband, taking their child and maid with her in the night. Brontë unveils the devastating consequences of marriage and a woman's inferior position in it, whilst also offering a way out. In the Preface Brontë states: “If I have warned one rash youth from following in their steps, or prevented one thoughtless girl from falling into the very natural error of my heroine, the book has not been written in vain.” (4)
I think this book offered beautifully dangerous commentary on the inequality and entrapment of 19th century marriage, whilst also depicting the heartwarming narrative of what one woman will do to protect her son, even if it means sacrificing her own wealth, mental health and stability.
Lastly, I was impressed with Brontë's response to sexist comments on the first edition of this book: “I am satisfied that if a book is a good one, it is so whatever the sex of the author may be. All novels are or should be written for both men and women to read” (5). Well said, Anne.
Love quickly turns to resentment. Arthur Huntingdon poisons himself with alcohol, poisons their marriage with adultery, and poisons their child through encouragement of egregious behaviour. Helen's internal war between adoration and antipathy in the light of her Christian faith leaves her guilt-ridden; her only solace - her son - being taught to hate her.
Anne Brontë then writes against 19th century beliefs on the sometimes brutal constancy of marriage as Helen decides to leave her husband, taking their child and maid with her in the night. Brontë unveils the devastating consequences of marriage and a woman's inferior position in it, whilst also offering a way out. In the Preface Brontë states: “If I have warned one rash youth from following in their steps, or prevented one thoughtless girl from falling into the very natural error of my heroine, the book has not been written in vain.” (4)
I think this book offered beautifully dangerous commentary on the inequality and entrapment of 19th century marriage, whilst also depicting the heartwarming narrative of what one woman will do to protect her son, even if it means sacrificing her own wealth, mental health and stability.
Lastly, I was impressed with Brontë's response to sexist comments on the first edition of this book: “I am satisfied that if a book is a good one, it is so whatever the sex of the author may be. All novels are or should be written for both men and women to read” (5). Well said, Anne.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reader, little did I know when I began this book that it would be my favorite novel by any of the Bronte sisters.
Granted, that's a low bar to overleap. Jane Eyre was all right, but too melodramatic, and I hate Wuthering Heights with a passion that not even Heathcliff himself could match.
But The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a fascinating mix, reflecting its time and ahead of its time in equal measures.
Unlike some of the other readers, I enjoyed starting with Gilbert's perspective and having his POV frame what is essentially Helen's story. I worry that I may identify with Gilbert too much: the nice guy who has to learn that just loving a woman won't solve all her problems, and may not even make me someone she should trust. Regardless of that, telling the beginning and end of the story in his voice makes it possible for Anne Brontë to let us in on the secrets slowly and build in some suspense. (The last few chapters, though, have devices to keep the lovers apart that would shame a 21st-century romance novelist!)
Having the middle of the book be in Helen's voice, however, is essential. We have to hear her experiences in her own voice to see how she goes from being an independent young woman of principle (but highly impressionable and romantic) to being the defensive, sometimes brusque, unyielding woman we meet at the beginning of the novel. And it also makes the somewhat conventional ending of the story more believable when we know who she had been before being married to an abusive, possessive, alcoholic. (The introduction to the Oxford World's Classics edition I read, by Josephine McDonagh, elaborates on how alcoholism was viewed at the time.)
Helen is much more of a feminist than anyone in her sisters' novels, let along most of 19th-century literature. She believes in romantic love, but she also believes that a woman can make her own way in the world. And yet, she is the kind of feminist who tends to believe in women's spiritual superiority: at least when they are Christians. She thinks women can help men get saved from hell, and therefore, it is their duty to try to save them. Helen asserts her own rights, but partly for her son's sake, and partly for Jesus' sake: what a congeries of ideas! Very revealing of the times, however.
I wish I had read this book several times over a lifetime instead of just reading it now when I'm 67.
Granted, that's a low bar to overleap. Jane Eyre was all right, but too melodramatic, and I hate Wuthering Heights with a passion that not even Heathcliff himself could match.
But The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a fascinating mix, reflecting its time and ahead of its time in equal measures.
Unlike some of the other readers, I enjoyed starting with Gilbert's perspective and having his POV frame what is essentially Helen's story. I worry that I may identify with Gilbert too much: the nice guy who has to learn that just loving a woman won't solve all her problems, and may not even make me someone she should trust. Regardless of that, telling the beginning and end of the story in his voice makes it possible for Anne Brontë to let us in on the secrets slowly and build in some suspense. (The last few chapters, though, have devices to keep the lovers apart that would shame a 21st-century romance novelist!)
Having the middle of the book be in Helen's voice, however, is essential. We have to hear her experiences in her own voice to see how she goes from being an independent young woman of principle (but highly impressionable and romantic) to being the defensive, sometimes brusque, unyielding woman we meet at the beginning of the novel. And it also makes the somewhat conventional ending of the story more believable when we know who she had been before being married to an abusive, possessive, alcoholic. (The introduction to the Oxford World's Classics edition I read, by Josephine McDonagh, elaborates on how alcoholism was viewed at the time.)
Helen is much more of a feminist than anyone in her sisters' novels, let along most of 19th-century literature. She believes in romantic love, but she also believes that a woman can make her own way in the world. And yet, she is the kind of feminist who tends to believe in women's spiritual superiority: at least when they are Christians. She thinks women can help men get saved from hell, and therefore, it is their duty to try to save them. Helen asserts her own rights, but partly for her son's sake, and partly for Jesus' sake: what a congeries of ideas! Very revealing of the times, however.
I wish I had read this book several times over a lifetime instead of just reading it now when I'm 67.
challenging
hopeful
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ho iniziato questo libro perché ce l’avevo da un po’ in tbr ma non sapevo per niente la trama. mi ha davvero stupita, inizialmente non comprendevo perché fosse dal pov di Gilbert (why would a man be there?), dopo ne ho compreso la motivazione: la sua narrazione rende la figura di Helen ancora più misteriosa al lettore finché poi si arriva al suo diario grazie al quale giungiamo a conoscere la sua vera storia. ad essere sincera fino all’ultimo ho pensato che non si sarebbero riconciliati a causa di varie peripezie, espediente che ha reso il tutto ancora più interessante
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I know some people see character growth in Gilbert, but I really didn't. He started as a self-satisfied brat and ended still a bit selfish. Helen was too good to be true. Much longer than it needed to be.
However, I will say it's a brave book for AB to tackle this subject at the time that she did.
However, I will say it's a brave book for AB to tackle this subject at the time that she did.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No