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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I just couldn't finish this one! It was too dry. Too bad.
Bronte employed the device of Disappointment very successfully. I was disappointed and sympathetic for the protagonist, despite a seemingly happy ending.
I realize I may lose my nerd credentials over this one, but I really struggled through the first half of Villette. I adore the Brontës, especially Jane Eyre, and was moved to re-read Villette after coming across this most excellent blog post: http://thehairpin.com/2011/01/books-that-beat-their-iconic-sister-books-jane-eyre-vs-villette. The writer argues that Villette is, in fact, superior to Jane Eyre.
I am unable to join in that sort of praise for it. There are some great plot turns and some memorable characters, of course. But on the whole I had a really tough time cheering on a heroine as passive as Lucy Snowe. It’s one thing to acknowledge that your path through life hasn’t been as smooth as you’d wish. It’s another thing to just lie down on that path and keep letting people trample over you.
The best thing I can say is that the French and franglais that are sprinkled liberally throughout the novel were delightful.
I am unable to join in that sort of praise for it. There are some great plot turns and some memorable characters, of course. But on the whole I had a really tough time cheering on a heroine as passive as Lucy Snowe. It’s one thing to acknowledge that your path through life hasn’t been as smooth as you’d wish. It’s another thing to just lie down on that path and keep letting people trample over you.
The best thing I can say is that the French and franglais that are sprinkled liberally throughout the novel were delightful.
Charlotte Brontë’s beautiful sentences and depth of character, depth of description, have been a welcome companion in these changed hours of quiet nights spangled with anxiety and days newly prescribed and ever-shadowed with questions. Her birthday was two days ago, and I thought of her often while I dug in my gardens and planted flowers, so grateful for the companionship of her creation and for art that still, 167 years later, is fierce enough, tender enough to meet us.
A fascinating novel that was way ahead of its time. Unlike most of the novels of its time, this isn't really a plot-driven book. Sure events happen and people come and go within the novel, but most of beauty of this book lies in the in-depth character study of the female protagonist. The book chronicles her adventures in a foreign country, her struggles to define herself after being basically family-less, and attempts to fit into a world where women were defined by the men courting them. Lucy Snowe and Bronte demonstrates that feminism wasn't created in the 1960s!
This is a gentle and subtle novel, that I suspect is hard to read for many contemporary readers, but careful attention to the beauty of the prose will be quite rewarding. . .
This is a gentle and subtle novel, that I suspect is hard to read for many contemporary readers, but careful attention to the beauty of the prose will be quite rewarding. . .
Brontélong
Omg.
How could Charlotte end a romance that way
Omg.
How could Charlotte end a romance that way
I had a strong sense of deja-vu when I started reading this; I think I tried to scale this mountain once before and was defeated. At 618 closely-printed pages, it is a bit of a slog. Bronte was certainly not a succinct author.
That said, I do love her prose style. The end of this book, about which I knew nothing, was quite a shock. I won't give it away but I will say that it's certainly not what you are thinking it will be. It is a book full of sadness and unfairness to the main character, so don't try it if you're in the mood for a light read.
I liked the first part of the book the most because Bronte is using the best way she knows to complain about the situations a women faced in her time. If a woman was unmarried and without financial means, she was lost to the world. Lucy had no man to bring order to her life, neither father nor brother nor husband to catch her when she fell, and there was no place for her in society because she was made too well for true poverty. She is scarred by events over which she has no control.
That said, I do love her prose style. The end of this book, about which I knew nothing, was quite a shock. I won't give it away but I will say that it's certainly not what you are thinking it will be. It is a book full of sadness and unfairness to the main character, so don't try it if you're in the mood for a light read.
I liked the first part of the book the most because Bronte is using the best way she knows to complain about the situations a women faced in her time. If a woman was unmarried and without financial means, she was lost to the world. Lucy had no man to bring order to her life, neither father nor brother nor husband to catch her when she fell, and there was no place for her in society because she was made too well for true poverty. She is scarred by events over which she has no control.
Finales de otras épocas
Este libro, de otra época describe fielmente lo que la literatura contemporánea a cambiado, el amor platónico sin necesidad de piel, es tan fuerte e inspirador que deleita su lectura.
Este libro, de otra época describe fielmente lo que la literatura contemporánea a cambiado, el amor platónico sin necesidad de piel, es tan fuerte e inspirador que deleita su lectura.
I was willing the heroine and her antagonist M.Paul to get together all the way through this book...the ambiguous ending had me spitting feathers...was it happy ever after ..or was it not..only the author knew..!
Painful to read. Charlotte Bronte accomplished much in this book, but did not make it pleasureable to read.