Anne Bronte's Second Novel
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a Story of Passion and Perserverance
Anne Bronte is often forgotten in the shadow of her sisters. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the story of a woman determined to save her son from his drunkard father.
Anne Bronte's second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was described as "coarse" and "brutal" at the time it was written (1848). Nineteenth century convention was that women belonged in the home, under their husbands thumb. (Indeed, the idiom "rule of thumb" comes from the law that a man could not beat his wife with anything thicker than his thumb). Bronte, however, goes against custom in this novel of perserverance and pride.
Anne Bronte's Characters:
Helen Huntingdon: She is the "tenant" of said Hall. She is mysterious throughout, keeping her life, and that of her son, private from the nosy villagers. She is courageous, and although wary of letting anyone know about her past, it does not keep her from being kind and generous to even those who snub her.
Arthur Huntingdon: Helen's drunkard, philandering husband. He refuses to grant her a divorce, and because of his temper and vile nature, she flees, attempting to take her son as far from her father's behaviors as possible. In the end, the reader still dislikes him intensely, but also finds room for pity.
Gilbert Markham: A village gentleman farmer, he falls madly in love with Helen. When he finds out about her past, he becomes "a ghost of himself," never giving up on the woman he cherishes, even when he believes there is no hope for them. At times, the reader is put off by Gilbert's occasional childish, and even violent, behavior, but he is clearly the better of Arthur Huntingdon.
There are a host of other characters surrounding these three. The village women play a large part in the movement of the story, as they continually demean Helen's character because of her lack of a (visible) husband, as well as due to her continued aloofness.
Analysis:
This story, said by Charlotte Bronte to be "an entire mistake," tells the story of a woman who escapes a horrible husband in order to give her child a better chance at life. Of course, this story resonates with people today as well.
Anne Bronte, however, infuses the idea that it is a more religious thing to do to leave one's husband who is so deeply mired in sin, than to stay with him when he could ruin her son's chances of being a good Christian. In this way, she balances the concept of having a totally outrageous female character who is headstrong and completely independent because of her art work, with a good Christian woman who is unwilling to damage her own soul, or her child's, by living with someone so vile.
Another interesting aspect is the small mindedness of those living in a small village, a theme repeated in Anne's as well as her sister's works. The women of the village, and some of the men, judge Helen based on their conjectures and rumors rather than any substaintied facts.
Helen's good nature is defined by how well she handles these women and their gossip mill. She faces them directly, and plays no games. It makes her an admirable adversary to the gossip mongers, and depicts them as the judgemental and petty people they are.
The local clergy man takes a hit as well, which is interesting given that Helen is such a modicum of Christian conviction. He too is judgemental, and sometimes even offers up some of the rumors himself, often pressing Gilbert to marry for trhe sake of "propiety" rather than persue the mysterious Helen Huntingdon.
Anne Bronte:
(1820-1849) The youngest of six children, her mother died when she was only a year old, and only her siblings Charlotte, Emily and Branwell survived into adulthood. Sent away to Roehead school, she had a kind of nervous breakdown, supposedly relating to a crisis of faith. The young Anne was very religious, owing to her close relationship with her aunt, who was raising the girls in their mothers stead.
This religious nature is a continued theme in her poetry as well as her novels, and is always clearly the "best" of a characters virtue. She has also written Agnes Grey, another story with a strong female character in love. She and her sisters published a book of poems under psydonyms, which sold a total of two copies. Their childhood home, the Bronte Parsonage, in Howarth, England, allows a visitor a fantastic look into the Bronte's lives.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a fascinating look at a nineteenth century woman stepping beyond the boundaries alloted to her in a small, judgemental society. It is also a romance, with a woman fulfilling her duty while wishing to follow her heart. Helen Huntingdon is a remarkable, fresh character written for all generations.
