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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I can’t believe y’all have been treating anne like the flop bronte for 150 years when she’s LITERALLY THE BEST ONE
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I didn't know the plot at all before starting this book, and was surprised to learn that it's about a woman's multi-year ordeal and attempt to escape an abusive marriage, and that it's also considered to be the first feminist novel.
It really makes me glad for all of the advances women have made in the last hundred or so years. That we can have our own bank accounts with our own money, our own credit, that we can own homes, that no-fault divorce exists and we can escape abusive situations and rebuild our lives. This poor woman was fully trapped in a way she would not have been today.
I wanted to try out a new Brontë sister, and I'm glad this is the one I went with!
It really makes me glad for all of the advances women have made in the last hundred or so years. That we can have our own bank accounts with our own money, our own credit, that we can own homes, that no-fault divorce exists and we can escape abusive situations and rebuild our lives. This poor woman was fully trapped in a way she would not have been today.
I wanted to try out a new Brontë sister, and I'm glad this is the one I went with!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Terminal illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement
Thank god I'm finally done with this book. Maybe it's because I just read Emma and Tess of the D'urbervilles for school and have had my fill of early 19th century books and their obtuse writing style for the moment, but I just absolutely hated this book. I really had to force myself to finish it. The vast majority of the plot could be summed up in a sentence (even the narrator says that the reader will think it too long), and neither of the two main characters are likable - Gilbert is a jerk who thinks it's ok to hit his friend in the face with a riding crop and is no better than the odious Mr Hargrave (the only interesting aspect of the book, I like how Anne Bronte fought against the white knight stereotype), and Helen is a preachy martyr (I could choke to death on the amount of religious sermonizing in this novel). Maybe it had some merit when it was first published, but it holds none for me now.
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Anne is the best Bronte.
P.S. I really liked this. The only problem for me: it was too long.
P.S. I really liked this. The only problem for me: it was too long.
So...this got off to a good start, but the story just got bogged down in the middle for me. Maybe if something were happening besides the observation of the husband's decline I could have enjoyed it more. I do understand why it is revolutionary for its time, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of the Bronte sisters.
ok so i really liked the first 2 volumes,, all the drama and flashbacks were really interesting and it all flowed really well.
- 3rd volume definitely dragged for me and i got bored with gil sulking at home the whole while. like you spent all of volume 1 pestering helen but after the 6 months passed i really… don’t understand why he didnt start writing to her. it’s not like she was particularly upfront about her feelings so ofc she’d wait for you to start writing first.. in retrospect, it was a sign that he’s maturing. he’s hesitant to rush into things like he would have just a year ago because he’s more mindful of how others will see things, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating lawl. i think because a lot of his inner thinking was still kind of childish (him lowk dissing her uncle when he died like what was that bro), but that’s just gil ig lol
- i can’t believe gil just got away with literally beating frederick up- that was crazy. and helen never even found out!!!
- helen reacting to gil when he showed up at staningley was so cute. i wish we could’ve seen her side of things post huntingdon and the uncle’s death more
- 3rd volume definitely dragged for me and i got bored with gil sulking at home the whole while. like you spent all of volume 1 pestering helen but after the 6 months passed i really… don’t understand why he didnt start writing to her. it’s not like she was particularly upfront about her feelings so ofc she’d wait for you to start writing first.. in retrospect, it was a sign that he’s maturing. he’s hesitant to rush into things like he would have just a year ago because he’s more mindful of how others will see things, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating lawl. i think because a lot of his inner thinking was still kind of childish (him lowk dissing her uncle when he died like what was that bro), but that’s just gil ig lol
- i can’t believe gil just got away with literally beating frederick up- that was crazy. and helen never even found out!!!
- helen reacting to gil when he showed up at staningley was so cute. i wish we could’ve seen her side of things post huntingdon and the uncle’s death more
I was slow getting into the book but then I couldn't put it down. Those Brontes know how to write a page turner...