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A review by laurenjpegler
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
5.0
3rd read: february 2021
just really beautiful.
UPDATE: finally, here is my review - https://bookishbyron.wordpress.com/2017/11/24/bookish-discussions-the-tenant-of-wildfell-hall/
RE-READ: November 2017.
I loved this, again! I'm going to write up a full review for my blog which I'll link onto here once written.
FIRST READ: MAY 2017.
"He knows he is my sun, and when he chooses to withhold his light, he would have my sky to be all darkness; he cannot bear that I should have a moon to mitigate the deprivation"
This is the first Anne Brontë novel that I've ever read, and I don't think I could have chosen a better one. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall tells the tale of Helen Graham, a wonderfully strong female protagonist who flees from her alcoholic husband to a life of isolation. What really stuck me about this novel was how heartbreakingly raw the depiction of Mr Huntingdon's descent into alcohol addiction was. It's a renowned fact that Anne drew on real-life experiences of her brother's addiction to opium and alcohol which make some elements of this story unsettling and upsetting to read. Reading how Mr Huntingdon verbally abused and bullied Helen was distressing, and I don't even want to imagine how Anne felt in that small parsonage when her brother was high/drunk from his addiction. I think she portrayed it very well - not completely giving over to it, but not shying away from it either.
I will always be grateful to Anne (and Charlotte) for having a proto-feminist approach to writing which really shone through in this novel, especially in Helen's demeanour. Despite the traumatic and abusive treatment she received at the hands of her husband, she was outspoken about his lifestyle and the way he continually oppressed her - she flees from his controlling grasps and makes a life for her own. Considering the restrictive patriarchal society that both Anne and Helen lived in, I love how they both challenge and reject the norms they set into place for women.
The Brontë's have such a way with writing their novels. I love this one in particular for how it presented the story. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is an epistolary novel which added a greater realism to the narrative (it was probably the most realistic novel I read from the Brontë sisters, Emily and Charlotte tend to add Romantic elements to their stories, but Anne really focused on depicting real life). The letter which Gilbert Markham addressed Helen's story was good, but I particularly liked it when he integrated Helen's diary into the letter. I could experience first hand Helen's reaction and thought process to what was going on around her, and from reading it from her diary I could rely on the fact it wasn't tampered with my Markham, thus making it real and truthful. I went from seeing thing from his perspective to seeing how Helen reacted to situations. I don't think Brontë could have constructed this story any better than in this form. I can't wait to read Agnes Grey next - just wished she wrote more novels before unfortunately dying.
just really beautiful.
UPDATE: finally, here is my review - https://bookishbyron.wordpress.com/2017/11/24/bookish-discussions-the-tenant-of-wildfell-hall/
RE-READ: November 2017.
I loved this, again! I'm going to write up a full review for my blog which I'll link onto here once written.
FIRST READ: MAY 2017.
"He knows he is my sun, and when he chooses to withhold his light, he would have my sky to be all darkness; he cannot bear that I should have a moon to mitigate the deprivation"
This is the first Anne Brontë novel that I've ever read, and I don't think I could have chosen a better one. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall tells the tale of Helen Graham, a wonderfully strong female protagonist who flees from her alcoholic husband to a life of isolation. What really stuck me about this novel was how heartbreakingly raw the depiction of Mr Huntingdon's descent into alcohol addiction was. It's a renowned fact that Anne drew on real-life experiences of her brother's addiction to opium and alcohol which make some elements of this story unsettling and upsetting to read. Reading how Mr Huntingdon verbally abused and bullied Helen was distressing, and I don't even want to imagine how Anne felt in that small parsonage when her brother was high/drunk from his addiction. I think she portrayed it very well - not completely giving over to it, but not shying away from it either.
I will always be grateful to Anne (and Charlotte) for having a proto-feminist approach to writing which really shone through in this novel, especially in Helen's demeanour. Despite the traumatic and abusive treatment she received at the hands of her husband, she was outspoken about his lifestyle and the way he continually oppressed her - she flees from his controlling grasps and makes a life for her own. Considering the restrictive patriarchal society that both Anne and Helen lived in, I love how they both challenge and reject the norms they set into place for women.
The Brontë's have such a way with writing their novels. I love this one in particular for how it presented the story. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is an epistolary novel which added a greater realism to the narrative (it was probably the most realistic novel I read from the Brontë sisters, Emily and Charlotte tend to add Romantic elements to their stories, but Anne really focused on depicting real life). The letter which Gilbert Markham addressed Helen's story was good, but I particularly liked it when he integrated Helen's diary into the letter. I could experience first hand Helen's reaction and thought process to what was going on around her, and from reading it from her diary I could rely on the fact it wasn't tampered with my Markham, thus making it real and truthful. I went from seeing thing from his perspective to seeing how Helen reacted to situations. I don't think Brontë could have constructed this story any better than in this form. I can't wait to read Agnes Grey next - just wished she wrote more novels before unfortunately dying.