The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Dec 15, 2018 RebeccaErGlad MegetGlad rated it liked it

Warning: this review contains the type of spoilers who will only be a problem if you've never heard of the Brontë sisters or are not aware of some of the tropes of fiction of a romantic nature. Also, I reveal some of the action in the first ten pages or so.

The reasons I read books these days are wildly arbitrary. This one I read because I happened to see it mentioned and was looking for a ebook I could read for free. Voilà! In all fairness, I have quite an interest in the Brontë sisters, so this Warning: this review contains the type of spoilers who will only be a problem if you've never heard of the Brontë sisters or are not aware of some of the tropes of fiction of a romantic nature. Also, I reveal some of the action in the first ten pages or so.

The reasons I read books these days are wildly arbitrary. This one I read because I happened to see it mentioned and was looking for a ebook I could read for free. Voilà! In all fairness, I have quite an interest in the Brontë sisters, so this isn't coming out of nowhere. These days, I am concerned (in a general, non-intensive way) with the way male romantic interests are portrayed in books. A small disclaimer: this will not be some academically stringent discussion of the hegemonic masculinity perpetuated in books with romantic themes. I'm going to admit, that even though "romance books" really do perpetuate an incredibly narrow view of masculinity, it is not my main issue here. Instead, my main concern is what type of characteristics books like these condition girls who read them to expect and accept in a potential partner.

In this, the Brontë sisters are interesting, as their image of the perfect partner obviously differ wildly. To ensure full disclosure, I'll say right off, that I've only ever read Wuthering Heights by Emily, Jane Eyre by Charlotte and Agnes Grey and The Tenant by Anne Brontë. So I do have basis for comparison, even though I've by no means exhausted their literary production. Also to ensure nothing is kept secret, I'll say right off that I prefer Jane Eyre, mostly because I remember the writing as being magnificent.

These facts dutifully disclosed, I can now return to my original train of thought. I read once, that one of the reasons the sisters differ so widely has to do with their brother, who was apparently a quite charming, dashing sort of fellow, that went to an early grave, possibly due to an excess of drink (or simply: due to temperance, as the Brontës would say). I shall keep nothing from you: I have NOT fact checked this. You may do that for me at your leisure. However, it was theorised that it was the very fact that Anne was the person to nurse their brother in his illness, that has given her quite a different perception of dashing fellows in general. And this experience can clearly be seen in this novel, to say the least. In both of the novels I've read by Anne, the male romantic interests are remarkable in their plainness, actually. They are, simply put, (comparatively) nice guys, and not tortured souls with dark pasts that require saving. In this book she goes as far as to illustrate that those mysterious, dark men can actually turn out to be nothing more than assholes. I would venture to make the point that if we accept it as fact that Anne had more experience of these interesting fellows that her sisters, it serves as a kind of warning against the type that is so very prolific in an entire literary genre prolific with idolised assholes that magically turn good in the end. This book almost reads as a epilogue of all those "he's a mean idiot, but my love will save him" books. But what do I know... I certainly find this book just as romantic as the sisters'.

To the readers that made it this far: I'm sorry to disappoint you, I'm just rambling on, I'm not even trying to make a well-structured argument with an interesting point.

But why three stars, you may ask, when this book is so ground breaking (in some respects) in regards to our dear, rather bland Mr. Markham. Maybe the answer lies right there. Rather nice guys are interesting too, so why does this guy have to be so flat, as to be rather wholly defined by his undying love for the fair lady? Also: we are to understand that he is a nice guy, but he does exhibit flashes of violence and obstinacy that are quite unbecoming. Also: this book kind of irritates me in the same way that Wuthering Heights does: It is told in a very annoying way. *Story structure spoiler alert.* We start with Mr. Markham as the narrator. Then, a third into the book, we suddenly switch to a flashback spanning almost half the book, of Mrs. Graham's exploits before she enters –shire. This quite quickly defuses the tension. While the letter Elizabeth Bennet receives in Pride&Prejudice is a short text inspiring immediate action in the main narrative, this flashback and change of protagonist just slows you down, and as you know the protagonist of this flashback is going to end up as a single lady clad in mourning in -shire afore long, it takes you about three pages to figure out the rest of what will happen in this delightful flashback. It really is quite lucky that I read relatively fast, or I might have stalled.

I know, I know, think of the context it was written in and all that, different conventions, woman writing with a male nome de plume or whatever. But I'm just unfair like that. I judge it with my modern eyes. It was three big stars, though.

Also, as frequent readers of my review rambles will note, I value two things in books the highest: 1. I would prefer it to be person driven (I'd rather read Crime and Punishment where approx. 90% of the action takes place inside the protagonist's head than e.g. most Philip Marlowe novels that are all action or just books with poorly written characters (a large category, this one)). 2. I like it to be well written. Like James Joyce, who writes like the sentences were delivered whole from some divine entity or as if he invented the English language to look like that, and all the English else spoken is adaptations of that (I've only read Dubliners, so I really can't speak to the quality of writing in his remaining work, but I trust it is equally excellent). Or Jane Eyre that I first hated, but later grew to love for the very floweriness I first despised. And this book (though I always relish reading a book where the phrase "it is incumbent upon me to remark..." might turn up) just didn't have that je ne sais quoi that makes me fall in love. Also, there was a lot of religious ranting that I found a little tedious.

Therefore: three stars, almost four. Because I liked it, though it's not my style. Did get quite emotional towards the end, though. I'll even recommend it, too. ...more

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Mar 26, 2018 Austen to Zafón rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, domestic, interior-life, uk

I read this because of a bit I saw about it in the now-defunct Writer's Almanac:

"Anne's second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was an immediate success. The heroine, Helen Huntingdon, leaves her husband to protect their young son from his influence. She supports herself and her son by painting while living in hiding. In doing so, she violates social conventions and English law. At the time, a married woman had no independent legal existence apart from her husband. It was later said that the

I read this because of a bit I saw about it in the now-defunct Writer's Almanac:

"Anne's second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was an immediate success. The heroine, Helen Huntingdon, leaves her husband to protect their young son from his influence. She supports herself and her son by painting while living in hiding. In doing so, she violates social conventions and English law. At the time, a married woman had no independent legal existence apart from her husband. It was later said that the slamming of Helen Huntingdon's bedroom door against her husband reverberated throughout Victorian England.

In the second printing of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë responded to critics who said her portrayal of the husband was graphic and disturbing. She wrote: 'Is it better to reveal the snares and pitfalls of life to the young and thoughtless traveller, or to cover them with branches and flowers? O Reader! if there were less of this delicate concealment of facts - this whispering 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace - there would be less of sin and misery to the young of both sexes who are left to wring their bitter knowledge from experience.'"

There are a number of reviewers here who say that they didn't like the novel because it was negative. I fail to see how she could write about the plight of women in abusive marriages without being "negative." I found it to be an interesting page-turner and historical record of how women were treated and viewed at the time. I was actually a bit disappointed that she opted for the rather unlikely and contrived happy ending. I would guess that she needed to do that for exactly the reason that readers wouldn't have been happy with a more realistic ending.

I read the Clarendon Edition and I wonder if maybe negative reviews have something to do with reading other editions. The thing is, for 138 years, publishers have been putting out an extensively edited and abridged version, but labeling it unabridged. It irritates me when publishers think they can do what they want with an author’s work and then pass it off as the original. After Anne Brönte’s death in 1854, a publisher substantively reworked her novel. Finally in 1992, Oxford University Press remedied the situation with their Clarendon Edition. It’s infuriating not to be able to trust the word “unabridged.” As far as I can tell, there is no audio book of the Clarendon Edition, although Kindle does have an eBook of it.

From Wikipedia:

“. . . in 1854 the London firm of Thomas Hodgson issued a one-volume edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.[71] Hodgson performed extensive editing of the novel, removing many sections, including the chapter headings and the opening letter, that starts with: ‘To J. Halford, Esq. Dear Halford, When we were together last...’ Other omissions ranged from single words to almost complete chapters (such as the 28th); some sections were completely rearranged in an attempt to compensate for the omissions. Most subsequent English editions, including those eventually produced by Charlotte's publisher, Smith, Elder & Co., followed this mutilated text. These copies are still prevalent today, despite notes on their covers claiming them to be complete and unabridged. In 1992, Oxford University Press published the Clarendon Edition of the novel, which is based on the first edition, but incorporating the preface and the corrections presented in the second edition.”

...more

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Jun 20, 2020 Lekeshua rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2020

I’ve enjoyed reading The Tenant it Wildfell Hall not only because it set place during the Victoria Era but it challenged the female position, demeanor, and morals in society. The story opens like any Victorian Era novel but it turned quickly when we met Helen. She keeps high morals but she’s a forward thinker. If I say more, I might unintentionally spoil it. Good read.

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