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A review by attytheresa
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
5.0
Oh what a glorious rich reading experience 'Villette' has been! I have to agree with George Eliot, 'Villette' is Charlotte Brontë's best novel. And the prose!
We first meet Lucy Snow as a child visiting her godmother, and certain imperious as well as loving aspects of her nature, as well as a certain aloofness, are readily evident. We meet her again about 10 years later, alone and deeply lonely, having survived untold tragedy and hardship, now having to make a living somehow. She ends up teaching in a foreign school, eventually achieving financial independence if not happiness.
What first caught my attention about Lucy was just how intrepid CB made her - she simply takes off for the continent to find a job without knowing anyone or having any leads, and with no resources. Written entirely in the first person, Lucy constantly describes herself as emotionless, mousy, subdued, meek, weak, cold. But the Lucy who is revealed is brave, strong, sensuous, passionate, loving and brimfull of emotion, relying for self-control on her nearly puritanical Protestantism. There is a fascinating subtext contrasting Protestantism with Romanism, with the Catholics and Jesuits not landing on the 'good' side of the portrayal, that adds fascinating layers to the story. Much is made of the fact that CB did not give Lucy Snow a happy ending, but I offer that in a way she did because in the end Lucy did know she was loved, achieved independence, and knew 3 years of joy. Marital happiness with M. Paul was not guaranteed despite their passionate interactions and tolerances because of the core conflict between their respective religious affiliations. The final lines of the book report the longevity of those who so effectively kept Lucy and Paul apart, thus suggesting that they would forever have interfered in their efforts at happiness.
Being published in 1853, 'Villette' is at least 100 years older than I am, thus fitting into the Pop Sugar 2016 reading challenge. I read it first when I was in my 20's, at the suggestion of an older friend. It was wasted on me then. One needs some maturity and life experience to be able to revel in this masterpiece.
One piece of advice: if you don't read French, get an annotated copy. It is a slow read in general, without having to struggle with sections of dialogue in another language.
We first meet Lucy Snow as a child visiting her godmother, and certain imperious as well as loving aspects of her nature, as well as a certain aloofness, are readily evident. We meet her again about 10 years later, alone and deeply lonely, having survived untold tragedy and hardship, now having to make a living somehow. She ends up teaching in a foreign school, eventually achieving financial independence if not happiness.
What first caught my attention about Lucy was just how intrepid CB made her - she simply takes off for the continent to find a job without knowing anyone or having any leads, and with no resources. Written entirely in the first person, Lucy constantly describes herself as emotionless, mousy, subdued, meek, weak, cold. But the Lucy who is revealed is brave, strong, sensuous, passionate, loving and brimfull of emotion, relying for self-control on her nearly puritanical Protestantism. There is a fascinating subtext contrasting Protestantism with Romanism, with the Catholics and Jesuits not landing on the 'good' side of the portrayal, that adds fascinating layers to the story. Much is made of the fact that CB did not give Lucy Snow a happy ending, but I offer that in a way she did because in the end Lucy did know she was loved, achieved independence, and knew 3 years of joy. Marital happiness with M. Paul was not guaranteed despite their passionate interactions and tolerances because of the core conflict between their respective religious affiliations. The final lines of the book report the longevity of those who so effectively kept Lucy and Paul apart, thus suggesting that they would forever have interfered in their efforts at happiness.
Being published in 1853, 'Villette' is at least 100 years older than I am, thus fitting into the Pop Sugar 2016 reading challenge. I read it first when I was in my 20's, at the suggestion of an older friend. It was wasted on me then. One needs some maturity and life experience to be able to revel in this masterpiece.
One piece of advice: if you don't read French, get an annotated copy. It is a slow read in general, without having to struggle with sections of dialogue in another language.