Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall

If I could but wrest myself from literature written in the 1800s, I might but yet relent from the poly-syllabary of obfuscatory prose.. but let me speak plainly. I must admit to putting this book off for a while, because it seemed a bit daunting. I added it to my reading list as part of a challenge to read "A Classic you hadn't heard of before this year" so I'll admit that I had mentally bunged it in with other "classics" that I had tried to read as a teen, and failed to finish (like Wuthering Heights).

CW: alcoholism, infidelity, gambling, violence, head injury, heteronormative Christian sexism

A reclusive painter and her son move into an old building that had previously been barely habitable, and the neighbours start to gossip about what she's hiding. Idle speculation leads to talk of scandal and stuck in the middle of it all our narrator begins to fall for this dark beauty and her logic, wit, piety and rationality.

I notice that Anne Brontë, like Mary Shelley before her, has delivered the narrative in the form of letters. Within this she also includes journal articles and conversations that flesh out backstory.. so that it becomes a pile of different stories nested within each other. Within this framework she uses characters in opposing schools of thought as verbal combatants to flesh out ideas of practicality and morality. She shows her colours as the daughter of a clergyman as the entire tale is underpinned by Christian sensibilities.

As far as the plot is concerned I could see where it was going and so I was frustrated that JUST as I felt there was going to be a revelation to the oblivious main character, instead he is handed a journal and then we proceed to get the entire backstory of the woman he's interested in... it's a good story though, so I shall pout quietly.

I find it very refreshing to see a lot of arguments about the raising of children in this story. The concept of coddling girls from evil influences, while expecting boys to learn of them from personal experience was a discussion I have had many times. I also noticed the common refrain of the Introvert - that enjoying the society of others doesn't mean that you need it all the time, or that it isn't overwhelming and exhausting. (REPRESENT: Welcome to Autism Appreciation Month 2023! lol)

I felt like one of the last sections of the book was tacked in to make the book longer, and give it a bit more action, pace? tension? It still felt like an afterthought, and that the cohesion and pace of the book was .. coming a bit unstuck as it bloated.

For an "old book" it has a lot in it to recommend it, and I can ignore most of the rest of it. For a book written in the UK in the 1800s it's .. almost ethnically diverse - characters being pale and red-headed, dark haired and black eyed with an olive complexion, or blonde and blue eyed... and there is plenty of forthright discourse about the affect that is expected of women, and men's obliviousness to the sacrifices they make for their husband's comfort. Yes it's wearisome that the framing is all about pairing off of men and women, and the expectations that young women will be married off.. and the tension between love and money/property/status.. that a woman's security is solely at the whims of the men in her life.. it is historical... in our culture if not in others.

My daughter recently stumbled upon the Scholastic rebindings of classic novels and this was one of them. I don't think that I would stop her reading it, as it's mostly about judging virtue, vice, and moderation, and considering honesty and forbearance. It's probably a bit old for her as yet, but for 20+ readers it might be an interesting chill read.

Content Warnings

morepagesplease's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

aleisurelydame's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I did not expect to be as invested in this book, but I could not stop reading it.

The way this story was told was interesting to me. It starts out very mysterious, and we meet the reclusive widow Helen Graham through Gilbert's point of view. Helen is new in town, and attracts some attention mostly because she is reluctant to interact with their town's society and is very attached to her young son.

Gilbert presents very immature throughout the story, even though I think his developing acquaintance with Helen is supposed to be helping him mature. I think what I personally least like about him is that he uses Helen's son as a pawn to win over Helen or to "punish her" when he thinks she's carrying out an affair. He's obsessive and gives in to his worst impulses - like his attack on Frederick. I think he's supposed to be more sensible by the end of the book, but I wish we had gotten more of that Gilbert to make up for the foolishness we get in the first half.

Helen is, by contrast, a much better character in terms of development throughout the story. Even though the book is not told chronologically. We start with Helen in hiding, and reclusive, then we get to know her past through her journal (which she gives to Gilbert to help him understand her better), and then we return to follow the conclusion of Helen's story. Each time we can see her growing as a character. As a young girl, we see her learn a hard lesson in life as she chooses to marry a very fickle man because she's attracted to him and she doesn't want to believe what others have to say about his character, only to become acquainted with his true character too late. Even in hiding, you see her develop from a recluse who wants to shut out all relationships to someone who is opening up her heart (more cautiously this time) to new friendships and love.

The full story is revealed to us from Gilbert's point of view, and we learn more about Helen's past at the same time he does, but I did like that we learn about Helen's past through her voice (via her journal).

Even though this book was published 175 years ago, I think it can resonate with modern audiences. Though Helen's actions are governed by different social rules that exist today, the depiction of emotional and financial abuse isn't unfamiliar to us. As I was reading this, I often compared it to Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Content Warnings

mondovertigo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

spicypenguin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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