Villette in Reading 1001

Nov 21, 2016 Rachel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: feminism, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, classics, fiction

This is the rare book where the plot made me roll my eyes but I still loved every word. If you ever want the definition of being friend-zoned, read this book. Part of my problem was that the love interest was described in such a way that I was reminded of 2 people I work with, both of whom are not interested at all in any romantic engagement with women, before I realized he was actually supposed to be a love interest. (And I didn't realize that until maybe the last 50 pages I think?) Anyways, th ...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Kristel rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, nook, british-literature

Villette is the semi autobiographical story of Lucy Snowe, a young woman of 23 who travels to Villette, a fictional town but modeled after Brussels, Belgium, where the author and her sister did travel for teaching positions. Ms Snowe does not know French, travels alone and is fortunate to find a position as a teacher in a boarding school because she speaks English. While traveling she befriends a young, shallow woman by the name of Ginevra Fanshawe, reunites with her Godmother and her son and be ...more

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Jan 29, 2016 Jgrace rated it really liked it

Shelves: judithg, jgrace, play-book-tag, audio, kindle, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, social-commentary, read-in-2016, 19th-century, brit-lit

Villette - Charlotte Bronte
Audio performance by Davina Porter
4 stars

My initial response to this book was that for me it barely deserved 3 stars. I just didn’t like Lucy Snowe. I could pity her, orphaned, penniless, forced to find what limited, demeaning work was available to her, but I couldn’t like her. She shows a certain amount of pluck when she launches herself to the continent in search of a better future, but she has no real plan, and allows herself to be blown about randomly by circ

Villette - Charlotte Bronte
Audio performance by Davina Porter
4 stars

My initial response to this book was that for me it barely deserved 3 stars. I just didn’t like Lucy Snowe. I could pity her, orphaned, penniless, forced to find what limited, demeaning work was available to her, but I couldn’t like her. She shows a certain amount of pluck when she launches herself to the continent in search of a better future, but she has no real plan, and allows herself to be blown about randomly by circumstance. She continually tells the reader that she is not very smart, and I have to agree with her. How hard is it to detect an obvious schoolgirl prank? I did not care for her anti-catholic rantings. (Although I can see this as a natural, expressive consequence from an author who grew up in a isolated Yorkshire parsonage.) Lucy is judgmental and dismissive of just about everyone, even the people she is fond of. Somehow, Lucy Snowe seems just a little bit off, emotionally unstable. Maybe that’s what George Eliot liked about her.

I’ve read Jane Eyre many times. I’ll probably read it a few more times, but I cannot see myself ever reading Villette again. The coincidentally recurring characters in this book are so very contrived that the whole story felt staged with paper cut-outs. I found the long, untranslated passages of French annoying, but with google, not insurmountable. Frequently, once translated, these passages only added to the excessive amount of repetition in this story. Admittedly, Bronte was spot on in portraying the petty gossip, jealousies, and ‘mean girls’ nastiness of the staff and pupils of Madame Beck’s pensionnat. I was amazed at how much it resembled the staff room atmosphere in the elementary school of my own teaching career. Realistic, but not a place that I want to revisit.

So I won’t read it again, but I don’t regret the time I spent with this book. Even more than Jane Eyre, this book is a feminist statement. As Lucy Snowe, Charlotte Bronte makes some biting social commentary about women’s education and financial insecurity. Lucy is a flawed character who pays a psychological price for her precarious situation. She is a judgemental but acute observer of other women and the various ways and means they use to find security and personal fulfillment. Maybe, that’s what George Eliot liked about her.

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Apr 18, 2012 Janet rated it liked it · review of another edition

Charlotte Bronte led a gray, bleak life and "Villette" reflects this. The main character, Lucy Snowe, is very independent and inventive, but a depressing, rather unlikeable young woman, cranky and rigid. Frequent French comments had me digging back for my school French. Bronte's descriptions are wonderful, painting vivid pictures of her characters, the time period, and the settings, bringing me into that time. However, she never uses one word when she can use fifty. The only glimmer of happiness ...more

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