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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Gilbert Markham loves a woman he cannot marry. Helen Huntingdon is married to a man who does not love her. Can they overcome the rules and opinions of society to find happiness together?
So I actually have a severe deficit of classics read in my repertoire. I've somehow managed to have never read any of the Bronte sisters before. I am really glad I finally got to reading one of them with this novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. I think the most surprising thing for me was for some reason I was expecting the POV to be of the female protagonist not the male. It was interesting to read this story in this epistolary style. I liked the series of letters and then diary entries.
At the end of the day this was actually a beautiful love story between Helen and Gilbert. He's a young man who finds himself head over heels for a woman, but she has a past and it has certainly colored her experience. Ultimately Helen is a good woman and Gilbert has more patience than most men his age to achieve what he wants in the end.
At the end of the day this was actually a beautiful love story between Helen and Gilbert. He's a young man who finds himself head over heels for a woman, but she has a past and it has certainly colored her experience. Ultimately Helen is a good woman and Gilbert has more patience than most men his age to achieve what he wants in the end.
Read from today's point of view The Tenant of Wildfell Hall seems like the same old story of a woman leaving an abusive, adulterous marriage, but if you look at it from the point of view of it's original Victorian Age audience it was something quite shocking and compelling. The characters could have been much more fleshed out...I didn't have much of a connection with Helen and it was certainly not as engrossing as her sisters' novels (Wuthering Heights will forever be my favorite), I still found it an enjoyable read.
I really enjoyed this! Not as much as Jane Eyre (which will always be my favourite Brontë novel), but Anne was so ahead of her time with this. We stan a feminist icon!
TW: abusive relationships
TW: abusive relationships
I really liked Anne Bronte's realistic grab of the age and the depiction of the countryside didn't swell on and on but just for a few short paragraphs that had the right amount of words to build the perfect image in your head.
Her style is also pretty engaging and doesn't drift away from the storyline. I noticed that Anne Bronte has this own special thing in her prose that builds tension slowly and not rapidly so that you don't get a sudden, violent heart attack.
I loved and felt Gilbert and Helen's relationship. It started with stony silences and then slow, nervous friendship and then this passionate trust of one another. Helen and Gilbert's steady relationship made me sigh in adoration.
The ending was so perfect I cried and at the same time I liked it because it wasn't instantly golden jolly but cautiously threaded out like opening a Christmas present, without tearing all the giftwrapper, and getting what you've always hoped for.
Her style is also pretty engaging and doesn't drift away from the storyline. I noticed that Anne Bronte has this own special thing in her prose that builds tension slowly and not rapidly so that you don't get a sudden, violent heart attack.
I loved and felt Gilbert and Helen's relationship. It started with stony silences and then slow, nervous friendship and then this passionate trust of one another. Helen and Gilbert's steady relationship made me sigh in adoration.
The ending was so perfect I cried and at the same time I liked it because it wasn't instantly golden jolly but cautiously threaded out like opening a Christmas present, without tearing all the giftwrapper, and getting what you've always hoped for.
I never thought anything would overtake Wuthering Heights as my favourite novel. And it hasn't. But Helen Huntingdon is such a phenomenal character that we can safely call it a draw.
Only my second Brontë sisters book, but it did not disappoint! I picked this upon Ruby Granger’s recommendation and agree that the manner of storytelling through letters and a diary is very creative, refreshing and offers insight to the characters. I also enjoyed the unconventional timeline, as well as the mystery. While I always suspected the ending (who doesn’t want the lovers to end up together?!) the journey to get there was well deserved.
emotional
reflective
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
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful and forward-thinking novel. The story of Helen Graham’s struggle for independence and dignity in the face of abuse is told with honesty and sensitivity, making it remarkably modern for its time. I appreciated how Brontë condemned the destructive effects of alcoholism and toxic relationships, shedding light on issues rarely discussed during her era.
Gilbert Markham was another highlight for me. I loved how his admiration for Helen grew from curiosity to genuine respect and love. He wasn’t perfect, but his kindness and the way he valued her made their relationship feel real and meaningful.
What I appreciated most about this novel is how Anne Brontë challenged the norms of her era. She didn’t shy away from difficult truths, and her portrayal of Helen’s strength and resilience felt empowering, even today.
Usually I try to give myself a bit of time to breathe before leaving a review for a book, but I am too besotted with this one, and feeling too wistful that it has ended, to not air my thoughts.
I am so incredibly disappointed that Anne Bronte is considered the least successful, relatively unknown Bronte sister, and that this work is so undervalued in comparison to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I loved those books, too, and I understand why their appeal is more universal, but the progressive nature of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is astonishing, the honesty in its pages so rare for its time, that it seems unfathomable that it isn't more widely read.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered one of the first feminist novels, and I can see why. However, Helen Graham is not one's typical feminist heroine. She is pious nearly to a fault. If Helen were alive today, she would be your well-intentioned but slightly nosy and judgmental neighbor. However, her writings as portrayed in the book are singularly human and heartfelt, it makes her impossible not to like.
Like many Bronte works, there is a long introduction. The novel is supposed to be a letter from Gilbert Markham to a trusted friend (Halford). He begins to describe the arrival of a young and beautiful widow to his isolated country town, and becomes increasingly intrigued by her even as his relatives and neighbors try to find a scandal in her past. He tries to court her, and is in turn rebuffed. Eventually, he confesses his love to her, and she feels compelled to refuse him, but will finally explain to him why, and gives him her journal. (Is it realistic that he transcribes her entire journal in letters to his friend? Probably not. Either way, the bulk of the book consists of her journal entries).
[Some spoilers of Helen's journals follow]
In her journal, Helen tells the tale of her past five years. She falls in love with an unscrupulous man, Arthur Huntingdon, who she believes she can change and set on the right path. What follows is the fallout from her mistaken assumption that he could change, and we watch their relationship slowly deteriorate. Arthur becomes restless and seeks his old friends' company, and devolves into drink and merriment, abandoning Helen for months at a time. Despite all of this, Helen believes she can change him, until one day she catches him having an affair with their friend's wife. This is all very real and gritty, even for Bronte writing.
Helen is at once infuriating and admirable in her piety. Huntingdon, who shows signs throughout of being pretty emotionally abusive, takes pleasure if she creates a scene, so she quietly bears the offenses, and resolves to live together but no longer suffer through "conjugal humiliation." [I think that's a direct quote]
However, as the years progress she becomes concerned about Huntingdon's influence on their son, Arthur. (Remember, she is extremely religious, so basically believes her husband and his friends are all going straight to Hell when they die, and she doesn't want her son to do the same. There's a fair amount of exploration of atheism in here, which I found strange, even though it's very much portrayed as "evil." She doesn't tiptoe around it or allude to it subtly, the characters make actual arguments for their opposing views). The final straw is a governess Arthur hires, despite no real need for one, who it quickly becomes obvious is his new paramour. Helen leaves, and sustains herself on her paintings while living at Wildfell Hall. Then we pick back up with Gilbert's perspective.
I don't normally summarize a book so much, but I feel like the events that take place are important. Helen does not only feel personally justified in leaving her husband, but most who know her story agree with her decision to do so. She is respected and not shunned from society, though to be fair, neither is Arthur. (In fact, the only character who meets a truly terrible fate is Lady Lowborough, the woman who cheated on her husband with Arthur. She meets an untimely death after having another affair. Though she is extremely unlikable as a character, it seems unfair that she is written off this way, while Arthur himself is given a slightly more sympathetic end. Though not too sympathetic, and bordering on pathetic, I suppose.)
As a result of the book's honesty, the real love story in it feels the most satisfying of the other Bronte works. Obviously, the stories in Wuthering Heights are borderline terrifying, but even the relationship in Jane Eyre made me uncomfortable. But I love the conclusion of this book. I've heard complaints that Anne Bronte is too negative and damning in her text, but found the story to he hopeful despite its realistic tone. My only criticism is a lack of intensity despite its content, that makes it a slightly more droning read than the aforementioned sisters' works. There's no real emotional climax to this story, because Helen herself never emotionally snaps. Gilbert, too, is of a similar tempered inclination, during his parts of the exposition. Still, it was satisfying.
[A note on this edition: The Wordsworth Classics edition's footnotes are kinda weird. While sometimes they provide valuable insight to the text, at other times they would simply define vocabulary that one should know, or at least could suss out with context clues. Also, there's an actual mistaken assumption in one of the footnotes. Footnote "67 (p. 177) 'If ever I am a mother' Only four months later Helen will report of the birth of her son. She clearly misses all the early signs." However, the pregnancy is alluded to earlier in the text, on p. 171: "'And remember your situation, dearest Helen; on your health, you know, depends the health, if not the life of our future hope.'" Which is basically the most obvious reference to a pregnancy in writing from this time period. It's odd, knowing about that oversight, taking the rest of the footnotes as seriously.]
I am so incredibly disappointed that Anne Bronte is considered the least successful, relatively unknown Bronte sister, and that this work is so undervalued in comparison to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I loved those books, too, and I understand why their appeal is more universal, but the progressive nature of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is astonishing, the honesty in its pages so rare for its time, that it seems unfathomable that it isn't more widely read.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered one of the first feminist novels, and I can see why. However, Helen Graham is not one's typical feminist heroine. She is pious nearly to a fault. If Helen were alive today, she would be your well-intentioned but slightly nosy and judgmental neighbor. However, her writings as portrayed in the book are singularly human and heartfelt, it makes her impossible not to like.
Like many Bronte works, there is a long introduction. The novel is supposed to be a letter from Gilbert Markham to a trusted friend (Halford). He begins to describe the arrival of a young and beautiful widow to his isolated country town, and becomes increasingly intrigued by her even as his relatives and neighbors try to find a scandal in her past. He tries to court her, and is in turn rebuffed. Eventually, he confesses his love to her, and she feels compelled to refuse him, but will finally explain to him why, and gives him her journal. (Is it realistic that he transcribes her entire journal in letters to his friend? Probably not. Either way, the bulk of the book consists of her journal entries).
[Some spoilers of Helen's journals follow]
In her journal, Helen tells the tale of her past five years. She falls in love with an unscrupulous man, Arthur Huntingdon, who she believes she can change and set on the right path. What follows is the fallout from her mistaken assumption that he could change, and we watch their relationship slowly deteriorate. Arthur becomes restless and seeks his old friends' company, and devolves into drink and merriment, abandoning Helen for months at a time. Despite all of this, Helen believes she can change him, until one day she catches him having an affair with their friend's wife. This is all very real and gritty, even for Bronte writing.
Helen is at once infuriating and admirable in her piety. Huntingdon, who shows signs throughout of being pretty emotionally abusive, takes pleasure if she creates a scene, so she quietly bears the offenses, and resolves to live together but no longer suffer through "conjugal humiliation." [I think that's a direct quote]
However, as the years progress she becomes concerned about Huntingdon's influence on their son, Arthur. (Remember, she is extremely religious, so basically believes her husband and his friends are all going straight to Hell when they die, and she doesn't want her son to do the same. There's a fair amount of exploration of atheism in here, which I found strange, even though it's very much portrayed as "evil." She doesn't tiptoe around it or allude to it subtly, the characters make actual arguments for their opposing views). The final straw is a governess Arthur hires, despite no real need for one, who it quickly becomes obvious is his new paramour. Helen leaves, and sustains herself on her paintings while living at Wildfell Hall. Then we pick back up with Gilbert's perspective.
I don't normally summarize a book so much, but I feel like the events that take place are important. Helen does not only feel personally justified in leaving her husband, but most who know her story agree with her decision to do so. She is respected and not shunned from society, though to be fair, neither is Arthur. (In fact, the only character who meets a truly terrible fate is Lady Lowborough, the woman who cheated on her husband with Arthur. She meets an untimely death after having another affair. Though she is extremely unlikable as a character, it seems unfair that she is written off this way, while Arthur himself is given a slightly more sympathetic end. Though not too sympathetic, and bordering on pathetic, I suppose.)
As a result of the book's honesty, the real love story in it feels the most satisfying of the other Bronte works. Obviously, the stories in Wuthering Heights are borderline terrifying, but even the relationship in Jane Eyre made me uncomfortable. But I love the conclusion of this book. I've heard complaints that Anne Bronte is too negative and damning in her text, but found the story to he hopeful despite its realistic tone. My only criticism is a lack of intensity despite its content, that makes it a slightly more droning read than the aforementioned sisters' works. There's no real emotional climax to this story, because Helen herself never emotionally snaps. Gilbert, too, is of a similar tempered inclination, during his parts of the exposition. Still, it was satisfying.
[A note on this edition: The Wordsworth Classics edition's footnotes are kinda weird. While sometimes they provide valuable insight to the text, at other times they would simply define vocabulary that one should know, or at least could suss out with context clues. Also, there's an actual mistaken assumption in one of the footnotes. Footnote "67 (p. 177) 'If ever I am a mother' Only four months later Helen will report of the birth of her son. She clearly misses all the early signs." However, the pregnancy is alluded to earlier in the text, on p. 171: "'And remember your situation, dearest Helen; on your health, you know, depends the health, if not the life of our future hope.'" Which is basically the most obvious reference to a pregnancy in writing from this time period. It's odd, knowing about that oversight, taking the rest of the footnotes as seriously.]