The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
WINTER CHALLENGE 2020
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Group Reads Discussion - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
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The GR data suggests that any edition starting "You must go back with me..." are incomplete. Has anyone found an edition that does not start like this and if so can you give me details thanks for your help
Marie (UK) wrote: "The GR data suggests that any edition starting "You must go back with me..." are incomplete. Has anyone found an edition that does not start like this and if so can you give me details thanks for y..."looking at wiki, it seems like most editions are "mutilated", though possibly there's an Oxford University Press ed that isn't. I don't think we're missing out on much, though - an introductory framing letter, it seems
The Oxford World's Classic edition is complete, although most people have read the "mutilated" edition as it's the one that's been in print all these years.
thank you both I have reserved at library so will have to accept what I get
WooHoo my library edition has not been abbreviated
I have finished this. I have not read it for the group reads but for favourite comfort reads list. The extra page that is missing from many editions IS just a framing letter and doe not add much to the mix - I am not sure why the GR data makes such a big thing about this.This is my first book by Anne Bronte. I read a lot of classics and I either love them or they leave me cold. Fortunately this was the former and I shall certainly be looking at others by Anne. I think Anne eclipses both charlotte and Emily by miles.
I liked the way this was written which to me appeared to be a continuation of that framing letter and the diary of Helen Graham. I liked the characterisation of the main players and how that was influenced by the time and setting. Like many classics there were times when the Lady did detail too much but I want to go to the library NOW and get more of her work.
I didn't vote for this one but I am glad it made it to the group read choices as I don't think it would have been on my radar otherwise.
The basic theme behind The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a feminist one – that marriage can be a prison for women, and that women have the natural right to assert themselves as individuals in order to break free of the abuse of this prison. Anyone reading of Huntingdon, the immoral young man of wealth and the husband of the protagonist Helen, certainly sees these ideas. The abuse Huntingdon gives to Helen is the impetus for most of the narrative action in the story. But the first part of the book betrays another theme – that of the inability of the virtues of masculinity to come forward. Masculine virtues are shown through the character of Gilbert, the narrator of part one of the novel, who is set up as a virtuous man. But when confronted with the fact of the marriage contract of Helen with her husband, he ends up relatively unable to do much of anything about the abuse Helen suffers. She returns to her husband involuntarily. Gilbert, the virtuous man, eventually is reunited with Helen, the female protagonist. But his virtues, aside from setting him up as the preferred husband, do nothing to get her out of her situation. Only her perseverance ensures that fate will take care of the evil embodied in her husband while she doggedly pursues an avenue of escape for her and her son.I like how this playing out of the theme differs from the feminism of Mary Wollstonecraft who proclaims that women should seek to embody the same virtues which men seek. Bronte appears to say that women have the right to virtues of their own, and that masculine virtues cannot really do much in the face of an inevitably evil situation when it is directed toward women. I am unsure if I agree with this idea, for I think we all would like to think that masculine virtue has the ability to prevail over masculine evil. But I like the fact that Bronte brings the idea forward and makes us all think.
I didn't vote for this one but I chose to read it since I was able to get a free ebook since it's in the public domain. I'm glad I did because this book is fantastic.It's not as well known as Anne's sister's famous Jane Eyre but I honestly liked it better. The story goes into great detail about what a bad marriage must have been like for a woman in England in the early 1800s, which is interesting since Anne Brontë herself never married. She was a very perceptive writer. It's got a very feminist tone to it, too, as I perceived that the men were all weak-willed in their own ways whereas the women were the main ones holding society together. The religion in this book as in the other Brontë novels I've read is striking, but I guess that's unsurprising given their background and the time period.
There are great strong characters like Helen (the tenant herself) who manages to support herself and her son in a very reduced circumstance, her maid Rachel who is ever-faithful, and her aunt Maxwell and friend Milicent who manage to make the best of less than ideal marriages. On the other side of things, the men had major character flaws. Gilbert Markham (the narrator of the first and last bits) is a generally nice but weak-willed young man, Mr. Huntingdon is basically a parody of the dissipated Regency rake with almost nothing redeeming about him, Mr. Hargrave is essentially a wolf in sheep's clothing, and Lord Lowborough tries to reform himself and seems to succeed in the end only with the help of a good woman.
I feel bad because I nominated this book for the Group Read task and really struggled to get through it. I found all the characters to be rather condescending and self-righteous in their beliefs. I see where the author was coming from, and it really needed to be said, but I really needed to work at convincing myself to pick the book back up.
Deborah wrote: "I feel bad because I nominated this book for the Group Read task and really struggled to get through it. I found all the characters to be rather condescending and self-righteous in their beliefs. I..."it may not have worked for you and that is a shame especially as nominating it means it is one you looked forward to. However lots of us did enjoy it so don't feel bad about nominating it
I listened to the audiobook on Audible ('included' with a membership). I'm glad I used this version as the 'professional' narration by Alex Jennings & Jenny Agutter was excellent. It might have been more challenging for me had I used the librovox version or the ebook. I also looked through the Modern Library ebook version which has some great biographical and background info in the intros/preface. I have previously read Charlotte B.'s Jane Eyre and had planned to get to Emily B.'s Wuthering Hts. next. I'm so glad I tackled this one and now look forward to reading my third Bronte sister!
I found the story fascinating and the writing wonderful. Sometimes it seems as though it was meant to be read aloud & in each character's unique voice.
I didn't find it necessary to particularly 'like' or identify with these characters and I did quite often enjoy the eloquence with which they spoke! Did people really talk thus or think in such descriptive manner to themselves back then?
For example Gilbert in chapter 13 "If life promised no enjoyment within my vocation, at least it offered no allurements out of it:'...'like any poor grudge of a carthorse that was fairly broken into its labour, and plod through life, not wholly useless if not agreeable, and uncomplaining if not contented with my lot." :-)
This was a great choice! Somehow I always seem to leave the group read until last. This was a great ending to my Winter 2020 challenge. I listened to the cdbbook and enjoyed it immensely. The story flows and the characters were interesting. I was impressed by Helen and her ability to leave and start again yet return to her "husband " in time of need. She was able to care for him without allowing herself to be drawn back into him.
Spoiler alert:
I always like a happy ending.
Like Deborah, I also struggled to read this book. I listened to the audio version, but found myself bored with most of it and had a hard time staying involved in the book. I'm not a big fan of classic literature, and picked this book because I was able to borrow it for free from Overdrive. Most of the characters in the book were unpleasant, and it seemed like a lot of gossip and whining. I know there is supposed to be a story about Helen standing up for herself against an abusive husband, but I probably wouldn't have gotten that from the book if I hadn't read other reviews. I did get more interested towards the end, but going back over it, (view spoiler)
I listened to the same audio as Janet on Audible and I thought it was very good. I thought the narration was superb and it drew me into the book.It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I was in I was glued. I particularly liked the 2nd part of the book written from Helen's point-of-view. I wanted to know what happened and was excited to keep reading. The writing was superb and really made for a compelling book. I also enjoyed the happy ending.
On the other hand I was not super fond of Helen's moralizing. Although I understood the purpose, some of her speeches were a little haughty and self-righteous like others have mentioned. I also wasn't completely sold on Helen and Gilbert's romance, but was happy for the way their story turned out all the same.
I haven't finished this yet - I'll come back and post again when I do. But I wanted to share my thoughts so far.I love a lot of the Classics, but I've never been a fan of the Bronte's style, or of Gothics, so I wasn't going to read this unless all of the books I needed for this challenge showed up at the library. The last book I needed came in, so here I am. Fortunately I'm enjoyed this more than I expected.
At first I could see the author reacting to the differences in how boys and girls were raised and clearly stating her opinion of such wrongness. It made me smile a little to think of the young girl venting her rage as she wrote, and I wished I'd tried that method when I was young and angry over that kind of unfairness.
Later I saw the foolishness of expecting young people to make sensible choices for marriage when they don't even know themselves, and how much they depend upon luck, then and now.
Also, there's the theme of a good woman reforming a rake, which I've never cared for, even in fiction. As a young girl everyone knew I loved to read, and another girl urged me to try some romances, though I mostly read classics and mysteries. She recommended a particular Regency, which I dutifully read. A very young girl fell in love with a much older rake, who showed no redeeming values at all. In the end he married her, and I remember thinking "That's supposed to be a happy ending? She'll be miserable - he'll keep going off with other women, leaving her stuck at home." It was a long time before I tried another book like that. (To set the record straight, I now often read and enjoy romances, but not with men who are real jerks.) I see this "being a good influence" idea enticing Helen into making a bad marriage decision. Unfortunately, it still happens today, I think.
My thoughts upon finishing the book:I found the middle hard going. I just don't like reading depressing books about selfish people, and it hurt to see Helen so caught up in that terrible relationship. In fact, all of the relationships were appalling to read about. It hurt even more to know that today these destructive patterns are still played out in many people's lives.
I don't really see that this book has an HEA. Gilbert is better than Arthur, but mostly because he has a more mild temperament. He's a step in the right direction for Helen and her son, but not the equal, respectful partner she craves.
I thought Helen's art was interesting. It gave the reader insight into her personality and also revealed how other people really saw her. I think if you respect someone you will try to learn about and respect what they value. Mostly the men treated her art like they owned it and the women dismissed or saw it as something to compete with.
Bronte's anger at the treatment and position of women comes out clearly all through this book. Unfortunately I still see a lot of these attitudes in ordinary people today. Societies change slowly, it seems, and even the most destructive ideas may be justified in decent people's minds.
So I actually have a severe deficit of classics read in my repertoire. I've somehow managed to have never read any of the Bronte sisters before. I am really glad I finally got to reading one of them with this novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. I think the most surprising thing for me was for some reason I was expecting the POV to be of the female protagonist not the male. It was interesting to read this story in this epistolary style. I liked the series of letters and then diary entries.
I just finished this book. I liked it and I admire the strong female characters, particularly Helen but also Aunt Maxwell, who turned out to be right about Arthur. I agree with being a bit surprised in the end that Helen agrees to marry Gilbert. But many it is because he is weak willed and will bend to the idea that he needs to listen to his wife and appreciate her perspective ... thats what leads to a happy marriage.
I am always impressed when I read these older classics like Jayne Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, even Little Women with the author's perception of society and how unfair it was to women. it was a different time and men were exalted regardless of their character. The female authors of this time period point were somewhat relentless in pointing out the idea that women were being underrated and thus treated unfairly.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Jane Eyre (other topics)The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (other topics)
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