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san_dra's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty and Death
mondovertigo's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse
manoushp109's review against another edition
4.5
lovely lovely read - read for english class and i wish i could give it 5 stars because it was so fun. it’s a letter with journal entries from another characters perspective. and there’s time skips. and it’s so fun. but the middle got so repetitive and boring and long that it was hard to get through. i love gilbert and his pov and the way he writes <333
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty
remuslibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexism and Death
Minor: Animal cruelty
jasschumacher's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
4.0
So you wrote a book of almost 500 pages to your friend Halford, spanning several years, but never once thought to see your friend in person in all this time?
Jokes aside, I didn’t expect this book to be as emotional as it was. And the importance to today’s world regarding domestic violence, toxic masculinity and many more themes is very sad and alarming.
Jokes aside, I didn’t expect this book to be as emotional as it was. And the importance to today’s world regarding domestic violence, toxic masculinity and many more themes is very sad and alarming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, and Toxic friendship
preciouslittleingenue's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was my first Brontë read, and my first classical read in a while. I’d only ever watched a Jane Eyre movie and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to read the work of its author’s sister. The premise is definitely intriguing, as that’s the reason I picked it up. I found every single man pathetic, insufferable, and un-pitiable except Lawrence, though I think that might be part of what Bronte was going for. I think it’s brilliant how she managed to throw digs at toxic masculinity by using a male first person POV. When Gilbert had his whole “I’m prone to being emotional hit I’m NOT a fop” I couldn’t help but giggle.
I expected the book to be laborious to get through; not necessarily in a negative or tedious way, just a bit of an effort given the period it was written and old writing conventions. So that doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m about to say. My issue was: there was simply no romance. Maybe this was just something that was not done back then, but Gilbert and Helen’s relationship was nonexistent. It went from zero to 100 so quick. One day they’re just hanging out on occasion and then he’s ready to off himself because she won’t engage with him romantically. And as much as Brontë narration went on and on in his perspective…I perceived nothing about what it was he loved about her? What drew him to her besides her mystery? I could tell he loved her son, but I felt there wasn’t enough written interaction between the adults for me to believe they were that painfully in love. I just didn’t feel anything when they went through their painful partings because I was like…well, I didn’t see them fall in love. I did not find myself shipping them. Which really hindered my ability to be engaged. But again, maybe writing romance back then was just not done. Although Austen managed fairly okay; I will say the P&P movies are all fairly more romantic than the novel, but there is still *something* to the relationship in the novel.
Now Helen…her devotion to Mr. Huntington was so frustrating. It’s hard to see it from her perspective, as I am a 2023 woman reading this. But god dammit, I knew he was an ass from the beginning. I almost thought he was going to assault her, thereby getting her with child and forcing her to flee and lie about being married, such was my disgust with his behavior prior to the marriage. But no, nothing that bad happened, and she married the dick weed, and then made excuse after excuse for him. I realize divorce was not an option, so she likely tried to make herself content as possible by making these excuses. But after a while it was just painful. And I suppose agin that that was part of the point. But the worst was when she went BACK to tend to him in his sickbed. He did NOT deserve that. And as much as I believe Helen is a good person, I find it so unrealistic that she would feel obligated to do that. Her “sainthood” as I’ll call it seemed so retroactive. I feel like she went from making excuses so she could survive living with him to just completely setting aside how horrible he was to do her “wifely duty” by him or whatever. I did not feel throughout the narrative that she was THAT self sacrificing and saintly. And of course that section was just riddled with her preaching to him and begging him to repent so he’d go to heaven…please. I found that so tiresome. I get that any “good Christian” would not rejoice in someone’s death, but there should have been any small part of her that was glad to finally be free. Even as she nursed him, he verbally abused her. She had all the power. She could have said “to hell with you” and left. And I truly don’t think God would’ve loved her any less. And I WANTED HER TO. It was literally painful listening to her cry for him. I couldn’t wait for him to finally die.
But I also think Brontë did this on purpose as well. I think painting her as a perfect saint made her more palatable as a character of that time. I’ll use queer people as a comparison. The first queer media couldn’t jump right to being brash and vulgar and polyamorous; etc you get the idea. They had to be written like they were “normal people” for hetero society to accept them. The gays love god too, the gays want white picket fences and kids and a dog too, etc. Similarly, Brontë couldn’t just write a woman who grew to hate her shit head husband and left him without looking back and rejoiced when he died. In order for her to reach ultimate levels of pitiable, she had to be practically infallible and saintly. So, again, as a product of its time, I get it. I would, however, love a retelling or even a movie where she’s more flawed. That might give something for Gilbert to actually like about her so the audience understands why they get together. Lmao.
ANYWAY, I’m glad I read this. For someone who talks a lot of classic, I don’t read too many, and I do feel enriched by having read this. I’ll know what to expect for novels written contemporary to this one, or I’ll be pleasantly surprised when these expectations are subverted/exceeded.
I expected the book to be laborious to get through; not necessarily in a negative or tedious way, just a bit of an effort given the period it was written and old writing conventions. So that doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m about to say. My issue was: there was simply no romance. Maybe this was just something that was not done back then, but Gilbert and Helen’s relationship was nonexistent. It went from zero to 100 so quick. One day they’re just hanging out on occasion and then he’s ready to off himself because she won’t engage with him romantically. And as much as Brontë narration went on and on in his perspective…I perceived nothing about what it was he loved about her? What drew him to her besides her mystery? I could tell he loved her son, but I felt there wasn’t enough written interaction between the adults for me to believe they were that painfully in love. I just didn’t feel anything when they went through their painful partings because I was like…well, I didn’t see them fall in love. I did not find myself shipping them. Which really hindered my ability to be engaged. But again, maybe writing romance back then was just not done. Although Austen managed fairly okay; I will say the P&P movies are all fairly more romantic than the novel, but there is still *something* to the relationship in the novel.
Now Helen…her devotion to Mr. Huntington was so frustrating. It’s hard to see it from her perspective, as I am a 2023 woman reading this. But god dammit, I knew he was an ass from the beginning. I almost thought he was going to assault her, thereby getting her with child and forcing her to flee and lie about being married, such was my disgust with his behavior prior to the marriage. But no, nothing that bad happened, and she married the dick weed, and then made excuse after excuse for him. I realize divorce was not an option, so she likely tried to make herself content as possible by making these excuses. But after a while it was just painful. And I suppose agin that that was part of the point. But the worst was when she went BACK to tend to him in his sickbed. He did NOT deserve that. And as much as I believe Helen is a good person, I find it so unrealistic that she would feel obligated to do that. Her “sainthood” as I’ll call it seemed so retroactive. I feel like she went from making excuses so she could survive living with him to just completely setting aside how horrible he was to do her “wifely duty” by him or whatever. I did not feel throughout the narrative that she was THAT self sacrificing and saintly. And of course that section was just riddled with her preaching to him and begging him to repent so he’d go to heaven…please. I found that so tiresome. I get that any “good Christian” would not rejoice in someone’s death, but there should have been any small part of her that was glad to finally be free. Even as she nursed him, he verbally abused her. She had all the power. She could have said “to hell with you” and left. And I truly don’t think God would’ve loved her any less. And I WANTED HER TO. It was literally painful listening to her cry for him. I couldn’t wait for him to finally die.
But I also think Brontë did this on purpose as well. I think painting her as a perfect saint made her more palatable as a character of that time. I’ll use queer people as a comparison. The first queer media couldn’t jump right to being brash and vulgar and polyamorous; etc you get the idea. They had to be written like they were “normal people” for hetero society to accept them. The gays love god too, the gays want white picket fences and kids and a dog too, etc. Similarly, Brontë couldn’t just write a woman who grew to hate her shit head husband and left him without looking back and rejoiced when he died. In order for her to reach ultimate levels of pitiable, she had to be practically infallible and saintly. So, again, as a product of its time, I get it. I would, however, love a retelling or even a movie where she’s more flawed. That might give something for Gilbert to actually like about her so the audience understands why they get together. Lmao.
ANYWAY, I’m glad I read this. For someone who talks a lot of classic, I don’t read too many, and I do feel enriched by having read this. I’ll know what to expect for novels written contemporary to this one, or I’ll be pleasantly surprised when these expectations are subverted/exceeded.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty
mikarala's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.25
Mr. Huntingdon has to be one of the most odious, despicable characters I've encountered. Anne Bronte so accurately captured the behaviour of an abuser that I can't believe she didn't personally experience that kind of relationship. The little ways that Hundington manipulates Helen made me so angry I had to put the book down at times. Bronte also managed to capture the essence of The Nice Guy so perfectly in Mr. Hargrave, so this novel really does a lot in terms of showing women what kind of men to avoid.
The narrative drags at times (the conclusion is a bit drawn out when we can already see where all of the characters are going to end up like 40-50 pages earlier), but altogether a really impressive work that shouldn't be forgotten in the English literary canon. Compared to Jane Eyre, I found this novel's plot and message to stand the test of time much better. I think the depiction of abuse and the essons learned from this novel feel highly relevant today and would definitely recommend it.
The narrative drags at times (the conclusion is a bit drawn out when we can already see where all of the characters are going to end up like 40-50 pages earlier), but altogether a really impressive work that shouldn't be forgotten in the English literary canon. Compared to Jane Eyre, I found this novel's plot and message to stand the test of time much better. I think the depiction of abuse and the essons learned from this novel feel highly relevant today and would definitely recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Infidelity
rieviolet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed The Tenant of Wildfell Hall much more than Anne Brontë's other novel, Agnes Grey.
I liked the writing style and the use of different narrative techniques
(the alternating POVs and the mix of letters and diaries entries).
It is an engaging read, there is a bit of mystery to keep your interest alive and I was also really engrossed in the characters' emotions. Though I have to say, as the story progressed, I felt that the emotional portrayals moved a bit too much into melodrama territory. I also struggled to reconcile some of the characters' choices with their depiction and growth up to that point, they felt a bit unexpected (and not in a good way).
The themes that are explored (such as addiction, domestic abuse and women's conditions) are really powerful and so releavant even in the present day. However, at times there was just too much of a
religious focus for my personal taste and that lowered my overall enjoyment of the story.
I liked the writing style and the use of different narrative techniques
(the alternating POVs and the mix of letters and diaries entries).
It is an engaging read, there is a bit of mystery to keep your interest alive and I was also really engrossed in the characters' emotions. Though I have to say, as the story progressed, I felt that the emotional portrayals moved a bit too much into melodrama territory. I also struggled to reconcile some of the characters' choices with their depiction and growth up to that point, they felt a bit unexpected (and not in a good way).
The themes that are explored (such as addiction, domestic abuse and women's conditions) are really powerful and so releavant even in the present day. However, at times there was just too much of a
religious focus for my personal taste and that lowered my overall enjoyment of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Confinement, Grief, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Medical content, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Child death
rivercat0338's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Physical abuse and Animal cruelty
Minor: Drug use and Blood
lillianreadsalot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Violence