The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall

Oh, how I enjoyed this one! And I shall shortly enclose why in a moment, but only once I have commented on its author (see, I enjoyed it so much that I'm even starting to speak in the style of the Brontes!)

The three Brontes

Anne Bronte, or "The Other Bronte Sister" as she is often known, has a very similar style to her sister Charlotte, simply in the fact that although the protagonist experiences severe hardships and trial in her life, all becomes well at the end of the book. I wonder at why Emily's one novel is more popular than Anne's two, as, I apologise to any fans of Wuthering Heights, enjoyable though it is, it cannot help but be depressing and sad. All that about (to quote Kate Bush) "Oh, Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy, I've come home now" goes round and round in circles, and is not at all true to what would happen in real life, as incest would usually be regarded as terribly shameful and disgusting, especially in the time at which Emily was writing. This is in sharp contrast to Anne, who's tale of an unhappy wife, uncontent with her husband's conduct, was probably more common than some mad bird wandering around the moors of Yorkshire.

Now, about the actual story and characters. The story was gripping and incredible, the characters rich and detailed and the quality of the writing phenomenal. Well, I guess that's what comes of being starved of society for your whole life...The character of Arthur Huntingdon is far from beautiful in habits and mannerisms and the like, but entrancing in the depth and detail that Anne cares to go into concerning him. His motives for ensnaring Helen in the first place? I would interpret it as the wish to flatter his own ego with the fact that he managed to entrance yet another young woman and make her fall in love with him-I suspect, from the overall impression we gain of his character throughout the novel, that she was not the first woman to fall victim to his awful attentions and terrible false affections, and we know that she definitely isn't that last. Helen herself is not a bad person, but falls victim to bad things. The many attentions she recieves from many of the male characters in the book are unwelcome, and she doesn't wish to encourage them in any way; in fact, the more a man grows attached to her, the more she insists that he offends her with his impertinent attentions.

The ending of this was altogether fulfilling, but the best part of the book was the middle, by far and without contest. The many trials and tests that Helen endures for the sake of her husband, and the many insults he chucks at her as a consequence of them only makes the reader empathise more with her. At first she seems annoying (when she impertinantly refuses Mr Gilbert Markham's love) but the moment he starts to read the manuscript, we begin to guess at her reasons and we are not at all pleasantly surprised to find that we are indeed correct in our assumptions of Helen's past.

Mr Huntingdon's addiction to alcohol is something that the Brontes had to experience on a regular basis with their brother Branwell Bronte, and many say that Anne fully intended Mr Huntingdon to be a representation of her brother. Looking further into symbols and representations, we can glean that Anne also intended to put a small portion of herself into Helen Huntingdon; a young girl, essentially, married at nineteen, who is condemned to live with the trials and tribulations of alcoholism in a husband (or, in terms of the allegory, a brother) who grows to have no compassion or love for her, and who constantly attempts to wean said husband off the dreadful addiction that he has fallen victim to, and who is constantly rebuffed and abused as a product of these attempts. Helen Huntingdon grows more and more desperate where her husband is concerned and only makes her more and more determined to deliver him from the evil demons haunting her him. Her diary is her only source of release and comfort, and becomes her only confidant; this we read with a certain sense of tresspassing upon an individual's private property, like the feeling you get when you stumble across something belonging to someone close to you that reveals some rather unwelcome truths.

The more we know about Helen Huntingdon the more we love her and the more our hearts bleed for her and the more we detest Mr Huntingdon. Overall, this book has replaced Jane Eyre as my favourite book-the plain intricacy of the storyline is beautiful and wonderous to behold. Sibling rivalry! Next I'm going to be reading Mort by Terry Pratchett, so look forward to the next post!