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A review by aleisurelydame
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I did not expect to be as invested in this book, but I could not stop reading it.
The way this story was told was interesting to me. It starts out very mysterious, and we meet the reclusive widow Helen Graham through Gilbert's point of view. Helen is new in town, and attracts some attention mostly because she is reluctant to interact with their town's society and is very attached to her young son.
Gilbert presents very immature throughout the story, even though I think his developing acquaintance with Helen is supposed to be helping him mature. I think what I personally least like about him is that he uses Helen's son as a pawn to win over Helen or to "punish her" when he thinks she's carrying out an affair. He's obsessive and gives in to his worst impulses - like his attack on Frederick. I think he's supposed to be more sensible by the end of the book, but I wish we had gotten more of that Gilbert to make up for the foolishness we get in the first half.
Helen is, by contrast, a much better character in terms of development throughout the story. Even though the book is not told chronologically. We start with Helen in hiding, and reclusive, then we get to know her past through her journal (which she gives to Gilbert to help him understand her better), and then we return to follow the conclusion of Helen's story. Each time we can see her growing as a character. As a young girl, we see her learn a hard lesson in life as she chooses to marry a very fickle man because she's attracted to him and she doesn't want to believe what others have to say about his character, only to become acquainted with his true character too late. Even in hiding, you see her develop from a recluse who wants to shut out all relationships to someone who is opening up her heart (more cautiously this time) to new friendships and love.
The full story is revealed to us from Gilbert's point of view, and we learn more about Helen's past at the same time he does, but I did like that we learn about Helen's past through her voice (via her journal).
Even though this book was published 175 years ago, I think it can resonate with modern audiences. Though Helen's actions are governed by different social rules that exist today, the depiction of emotional and financial abuse isn't unfamiliar to us. As I was reading this, I often compared it to Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
The way this story was told was interesting to me. It starts out very mysterious, and we meet the reclusive widow Helen Graham through Gilbert's point of view. Helen is new in town, and attracts some attention mostly because she is reluctant to interact with their town's society and is very attached to her young son.
Helen is, by contrast, a much better character in terms of development throughout the story. Even though the book is not told chronologically. We start with Helen in hiding, and reclusive, then we get to know her past through her journal (which she gives to Gilbert to help him understand her better), and then we return to follow the conclusion of Helen's story. Each time we can see her growing as a character. As a young girl, we see her learn a hard lesson in life as she chooses to marry a very fickle man because she's attracted to him and she doesn't want to believe what others have to say about his character, only to become acquainted with his true character too late. Even in hiding, you see her develop from a recluse who wants to shut out all relationships to someone who is opening up her heart (more cautiously this time) to new friendships and love.
The full story is revealed to us from Gilbert's point of view, and we learn more about Helen's past at the same time he does, but I did like that we learn about Helen's past through her voice (via her journal).
Even though this book was published 175 years ago, I think it can resonate with modern audiences. Though Helen's actions are governed by different social rules that exist today, the depiction of emotional and financial abuse isn't unfamiliar to us. As I was reading this, I often compared it to Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism