This cannot fail to move you (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte)

Member Name: pinklady123

Product:	The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte
Date:	25/03/04 (303 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: poingnant insight into a woman's life at the time, moving

Disadvantages: names can be a bit confusing, religious aspect may be offputting for some readers

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Following on from reading Emily Bronte?s Wuthering Heights recently, and having enjoyed it, I decided to read some of the other Brontes? work and picked up a copy of Anne Bronte?s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Plot
The story consists of a man called Gilbert Markham who is deeply intrigued by the past of a young woman called Helen Graham who arrives in the area a widow, with a young son in tow. He becomes infatuated with her and her mysterious past and strives to find out the details of her earlier life. Through Gilbert?s narrative and a series of diary entries written by Mrs Graham, we begin to piece together her life and the reason for her sudden appearance at Wildfell Hall.

Characters
The novel is told with two different narratives. At the start of the book, we see everything through Gilbert?s eyes ? those of a naïve young man who cannot believe the country gossip around him. The focus then shifts to Helen and her diary which tells the tale of her life previous to living in Wildfell Hall. It is an emotive, at times shocking tale, which as it is in diary form, allows us to see life completely through her eyes and witness the despair that she encounters. She is a strong woman who is not scared of challenging traditional female stereotypes and ideas of womanhood which state that a woman is only a wife and mother and belongs to her husband. She stays focussed on her goals and aims to give her son the life which she believes he should have.

Themes
There are several themes running through the novel, of which tow of the main ones are Religion and the place of women in society. Although you can read this just as an enjoyable novel, there is a hint of religion which forms a strong undercurrent of the book. Helen is highly religious and thinks her way of living is the only way of living and others should follow the rule she adheres to. However, this religious aspect of the book is only
a small aspect and it is possible to overlook it and concentrate on other aspects of the novel.
The theme of woman and their place in society also occurs as this was written when women were second-class citizens without the same rights as men which they enjoy these days. They were the possession of men and therefore had to do as they said, and as a consequence, found it very difficult to obtain a divorce. Helen?s struggle against men and the role of women in which they were subservient to men is shown in great detail and in such a way as which you really emphasise with her struggles and her feelings.

My overall opinion
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it a very moving account of a woman?s struggle against the all-dominating role of men in society. Although there are religious aspects to the book, these can be overlooked and should not put any readers off if they are thinking of reading this. In my opinion, this is solely a story of a woman?s life and how she tries to better this life for her son. I found the characters entirely believable, from Helen as the wronged ?widow? to the country gossips who are keen to spread rumour and malice everywhere. However, there were a couple of negative points. The names of all the characters and their tenuous connections to one another did prove a little confusing at times ? mainly as all their names started with the letter H! And I did find the ending rather predictable and a little disappointing. Maybe it is because I have read quite a lot of nineteenth century fiction and I am used to how they are written or perhaps it was just very predictable. All in all, I would recommend this book, especially to those who have read Pride and Prejudice and the like as it provides a startling and powerful insight into life in the Victorian era.

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