Anne Bronte
Aug 19
2004
Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is my favorite of the Bronte sisters' books. Unlike Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, it focuses on the consequences of Byronic behavior, rather than wading ponderously through the causes of it. Modern readers might fail to appreciate the impact of the book, but at the time it was published The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was a direct assault on both social conventions and English law.
The novel opens in 1827, when a young woman calling herself Helen Graham takes up residence in an isolated moorland house, posing as a widow. Seen through the eyes of a besotted male narrator, a scandal explodes when Helen's new neighbors discover that she is in truth a married woman who has fled from her abusive husband in an effort to protect her son from his influence. The book's two main themes--the inadequate preparation of young women for marriage and the biased training of young men for adult life--are handled with a quietly powerful style that Anne's sisters' books (which have their own virtues) do not display.
Note: Critics originally thought that Charlotte Bronte, who had recently enjoyed tremendous success with Jane Eyre, wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. (The sisters, who wrote under the pseudonyms Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell, were widely thought to be one person.) In fact, Anne's older sister disapproved of the book. "The choice of subject matter was an entire mistake," wrote the obviously charming and supportive Charlotte. "Nothing less congruous with the writer's nature could be conceived. The motives which dictated this choice were pure, but, I think, slightly morbid." Anne had died of tuberculosis by this time these comments were published, but if Charlotte said something similar to her during her lifetime, I sincerely hope Anne told her off for it ("Slightly morbid, little miss crazy-wife-in-the-attic? Slightly MORBID?!?").
Aftertaste:
I will never understand why The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is so frequently ignored, while Wuthering Heights is celebrated. The kindest thing that can be said of Wuthering Heights is that it, um, strains credulity, while Anne's book dishes up some heady but plausible drama.
Availability:
Everywhere. There's also a decent Masterpiece Theater adaptation of Wildfell Hall.
(Availability Note: While we here at Wordcandy always encourage you to buy books (in fact, buy them through us! We're a very worthy cause!) we understand that sometimes, alas, one is flat broke. If that's the case, you can read copies of some or all of this author's books at this fine site for FREE.)
Other Recommendations:
Roman Fever, by Edith Wharton
Website:
http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Bronte.html -
The novel opens in 1827, when a young woman calling herself Helen Graham takes up residence in an isolated moorland house, posing as a widow. Seen through the eyes of a besotted male narrator, a scandal explodes when Helen's new neighbors discover that she is in truth a married woman who has fled from her abusive husband in an effort to protect her son from his influence. The book's two main themes--the inadequate preparation of young women for marriage and the biased training of young men for adult life--are handled with a quietly powerful style that Anne's sisters' books (which have their own virtues) do not display.
Note: Critics originally thought that Charlotte Bronte, who had recently enjoyed tremendous success with Jane Eyre, wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. (The sisters, who wrote under the pseudonyms Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell, were widely thought to be one person.) In fact, Anne's older sister disapproved of the book. "The choice of subject matter was an entire mistake," wrote the obviously charming and supportive Charlotte. "Nothing less congruous with the writer's nature could be conceived. The motives which dictated this choice were pure, but, I think, slightly morbid." Anne had died of tuberculosis by this time these comments were published, but if Charlotte said something similar to her during her lifetime, I sincerely hope Anne told her off for it ("Slightly morbid, little miss crazy-wife-in-the-attic? Slightly MORBID?!?").
Aftertaste:
I will never understand why The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is so frequently ignored, while Wuthering Heights is celebrated. The kindest thing that can be said of Wuthering Heights is that it, um, strains credulity, while Anne's book dishes up some heady but plausible drama.
Availability:
Everywhere. There's also a decent Masterpiece Theater adaptation of Wildfell Hall.
(Availability Note: While we here at Wordcandy always encourage you to buy books (in fact, buy them through us! We're a very worthy cause!) we understand that sometimes, alas, one is flat broke. If that's the case, you can read copies of some or all of this author's books at this fine site for FREE.)
Other Recommendations:
Roman Fever, by Edith Wharton
Website:
http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Bronte.html -
Posted by: Julia
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