Villette was a solid four-star novel, a classic, but reader, it was no Jane Eyre.
I've read a lot about Charlotte Bronte's life and work although until Villette, I had only actually read Jane Eyre...multiple times. I knew that it was her last novel and that once again she tried to tell the story of her life in Brussels as a young woman and her unrequited passion for her teacher, Monsieur Heger, and her jealous rage against his wife, Madame Heger.
The writing in Villette is better than the plot, which is filled with coincidences and, apart from the two main characters, Lucy Snowe and Paul Emmanuel, peopled by rather two-dimensional characters. The story Charlotte Bronte wanted to tell required plot gymnastics because, I believe, her real motivation was catharsis rather than the need to tell a story of the human condition. She needed to rewrite her own personal history in such a way to prove to herself that she was loved by the man she loved, she had been chosen and not rejected.
I've been reading Hemingway lately and so top of mind for me is that Villette is not a honest story. Charlotte Bronte created a story of star-crossed lovers, thwarted first by Paul's cousin, Madame Beck, by Catholicism (not just the fact that Lucy is Protestant and Paul is Catholic, but personified by Pere Silas), by misplaced family obligation (Paul is sent to save the family fortunes in the Caribbean), and finally by Nature herself. All this to explain away the fact that she (Charlotte Bronte) fell in love with a married man--actually I think it was more transference and infatuation than love.
I am glad I read Villette. It shows Charlotte Bronte's skill as a writer, but it suffers from a lack of honesty, something that shines through in Jane Eyre.
Book 2 in the 2018 Back to the Classics Challenge!
Jane Eyre was one of the first classics I read (the other was Pride and Prejudice) and I've loved it ever since, finding different things in it each time. But I have never read Villette or Shirley. It's a pity Villette has not got the honesty of Jane Eyre, but I'm glad it's still a 4 star read.
ReplyDeleteHere's my Villette confession: I made it to page 95 and quit. I just couldn't take it any more. So kudos to you for making it all the way through. :D
ReplyDeleteGreat review. By coincidence I just finished this myself, my review is waiting in the wings and will be up soon. I like your point about this being a less honest book then Jane Eyre.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a coincidence. Can't wait to read your thoughts on the novel.
DeleteI have only read Jane Eyre but would love to read Charlotte Bronte’s books. But first I feel I have to read Anne Bronte! At least one.
DeleteI love your take on Charlotte’s motivations for writing this book. That adds another layer of interest.
I found this one went nowhere and took forever to get there. A lot of slog and no payoff. The ending made me really mad. I love Jane Eyre and this was really disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Shirley or The Professor so I'm hesitant to read anything else by Charlotte Bronte.
Your reaction to Villette is quite provocative and interesting, as always. It is surely deeply honest on your part to have felt repelled by certain aspects of the novel. As we have chatted about the book, you know that I admire it more than you did. Your piece helps me clarify a few thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would say that just as faithfulness to its author's biography would not necessarily make a novel honest, likewise unfaithfulness or a poor match with the author's own story should not necessarily be perceived as dishonesty in fiction, or alibiing. The integrity of the story should be judged on its own merits, I believe, and then biographical information should be viewed as supplementary but not decisive.
For me, Villette's genuine insights include Bronte's portrayal of Lucy Snowe who is complicated and melancholy. She has a difficult personality that does not always serve her well, and she is even saddled with contradictory flaws, as perhaps real people are. She is neither as brave nor as admirable as Jane Eyre, but she seemed a truthful portrait, perhaps more brutally honest for being less ideal. Villette is not the same kind of brilliant-cut diamond as Jane Eyre, but I still think it often shines!
Love your thoughtful response!
DeleteI always love talking books with you, Lucy. Even when we disagree, I find my pov changing based on your thoughts. It wasn't the portrayal of Lucy that I had a problem with--it was using Catholicism as a club with which to beat Madame Beck (Heger). I really didn't think was fair.
DeleteThis Heger must have been some kind of guy, or at least for Charlotte he was. I need to go back & revisit Jane Eyre. I like your observations about Villette. It doesn't sound near as good.
ReplyDeleteVillette has been on my shelf for a long time. I read Shirley quite a few years ago and Jane Eyre is still the all-time classic. I'm sad it didn't speak to you as much as you were hoping! I enjoy your take on it. I know I'll get to it one day.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting to read your take on this book. It's on my Classics Club list, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it. Will be curious to see how your impressions compare to Brian's...
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to read your open and honest opinion of Villette. I had a different take on it, I think. It seemed an honest, accurate portrayal of obsessive, frustrated love. I think that's what appealed to me the most at the time I read it.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Fascinating that Charlotte Bronte didn't want to face in real life that her love was unrequited and so wrote Villette which doesn't quite ring true. It's a shame because Charlotte Bronte is a brilliant writer and if she had told the story the way it really happened would have so much to say about unrequited love, things that haven't been said before but Bronte was a passionate author and so maybe that passion got in the way of her seeing what really happened.
ReplyDeleteI last read Villette as a teenager, I wonder if I should read it again now as a 40-year old. I remember feeling the same - it was a well written book, but was missing the spark and passion of Jane Eyre. It's strange as Bronte did use many of her own experiences in writing Villette as she did with Jane Eyre, but it's just missing something. I wonder if its because in real life she didn't end up with her married professor either? I would have liked it better if she would have had her heart broken, and then pulled herself up by her boot straps to write a best selling novel just like she did in real life!
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