The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

 

Title:  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Author:  Anne Bronte

Narrated by:  Piers Wehner & Katy Carmichael

Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks

Length: Approximately 20 hours and 29 minutes

Source: Checked out with Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

 

Have you ever heard of Anne Bronte?  Have you ever read any of her novels?

I read all of the Bronte novels written by Charlotte, Emily, and Anne back in high school and college.  I enjoyed them all, but I was surprised at how well I loved Anne’s novels.  She is the lesser-known Bronte and not nearly talked about as much as Charlotte or Emily.  I think this is a shame as I truthfully enjoy The Tenant of Wildfell Hall more than Wuthering Heights.  I think it’s just as good as her sisters.  Unfortunately, Charlotte held The Tenant of Wildfell Hall back from being published again while she was alive.  It was considered a scandalous book for its time as it dealt with alcoholism, marital strife, and a woman leaving her husband and supporting herself.  In the twentieth century, this book has been reexamined and is considered one of the earliest feminist novels.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was the JASNA Northwoods book club pick for our June meeting that was rescheduled for August.  I finished this book the beginning of June and was ready to discuss it, but I wasn’t finished with the second book so I am glad for the extra time.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a story within a story.  The story starts with a young gentleman farmer named Gilbert Markham writing a series of letters to a friend that describe how a mysterious young widow, Helen Graham, has moved to the neighborhood with her small son.  She supports herself as an artist.  Gilbert finds himself falling in love with her, but she becomes the talk of the neighborhood as various rumors abound.  Helen gives Gilbert her diary to discover her true past.  In it, Gilbert discovers that Helen is still a married woman.  She married Arthur Huntingdon for love, but he soon slips into a life of alcoholism and womanizing.  He uses Helen’s money to fund his lifestyle. Helen tries to make her life work, but when she finds Arthur getting their son drunk and trying to lead him into a dissolute life, she knows it is time to leave.   The book flips back in the final third to Gilbert’s point of view. Will Helen and Gilbert get their happy ending?

I really liked how forward-thinking Helen was with her questioning of why boys were educated on the ways of the world while girls were not. I like her posing the question of why aren’t women better prepared for the world and how to handle it?  Why were they left in a state of naivety? It was also forward thinking to have Helen leave her husband and try to support herself.

The framing device with Gilbert was okay.  It felt like Gilbert’s side of the story could have been edited down.  I liked how the beginning of the story was like a Jane Austen novel.  I didn’t really feel Gilbert and Helen’s love story.    I don’t think Gilbert was Helen’s equal, especially when he mistakenly beat up her brother in a jealous rage. 

I liked how this story was one of what happens if you actually marry the Byronic hero from Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre . . . . or the bad boys from Austen like Willoughby or Wickham.  The man who was so charming in the beginning, is an impossible husband to live with.  It was interesting to think about.  It also makes me wonder, how much of the story was based on Anne’s brother Branwell?  Or was it based on things she saw as a governess?  It made me really think about the lack of options women had at the time and how they could be stuck in a truly terrible situation.

Piers Wehner & Katy Carmichael were both good narrators.  Wehner narrated the Gilbert letters while Carmichael narrated Helen’s letters.  It was a very interesting audiobook.  I liked comparing sections to my book as well.