Spoiler-Free Review: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

 

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Synopsis:

    The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë is a classic literature novel, originally published in 1848. The story follows two different perspectives: Gilbert Markham's and a mysterious Mrs. Graham's. The story begins when Mrs. Graham moves into an estate in this English town known to everyone as Wildfell Hall with her maid and young son, Arthur. As Gilbert and Helen get to know each other better, she shares her diary with him. Gilbert then proceeds to read it to find out about Mrs. Graham's past. Most of the story chronicles Helen's backstory written in the diary and explains how and why she ended up at Wildfell Hall.

    Before diving into my review, please note that it is based on my opinion of the book. As you consider my thoughts, remember that you are allowed to have different feelings about this book. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to pick up a copy and form your own opinion on it.

Content Warnings: This book discusses themes of violence, abuse, alcoholism, and adultery. Please be advised before continuing on.

Review:

    At the beginning of the story, I was really confused and bored. It took me a while to really get into this story and understand the purpose of the novel. Eventually, I figured out that this book is really a form of social criticism, scrutinizing the actions of society and men in particular in the 1800s. Once I understood this, I appreciated the content of the story much more and I loved what it was trying to do. This was the first classic I've read that has been written by one of the Brontë sisters and I would definitely like to try some of their other works soon. But, I'm not sure that this one was for me.

    The story begins from Gilbert Markham's perspective and although he was painted as the hero throughout most of the story, I didn't really care for him. It's clear that his mother, Mrs. Markham has spoiled him from childhood and he always seemed to carry around a sense of entitlement with him. He quickly jumps to conclusions without having any real evidence to base them off and I found this to be quite annoying. He honestly didn't receive much character development throughout the story and his character, overall, was unimpressive and a letdown.

    Helen Huntington, who goes by Mrs. Graham throughout most of the story, had the most compelling character arc and story in the novel. I loved watching her growing up from a very young and impressionable girl into a strong woman. Although she professes much about how she will choose a man of good morals to her aunt, Helen is easily wooed by a dashing and charming young man called Arthur Huntington. They marry against her aunt's wishes and honestly I was skeptical of their relationship from the start. Mr. Huntington seemed too good to be true. As I read further into the diary entries, my suspicions were confirmed. The diary chronicles the time she spends living in her husband's house and later on her plan to escape with her son to Wildfell Hall when it all becomes too much to bear. 

    Arthur Huntington was a restless young man who quickly turned to alcoholism and abusing his wife. He is easily the most despicable character in the book and I was especially offended by how he started to corrupt their little son Arthur from such a young age. The child was not even five years old when his father began encouraging him to start drinking and disrespecting his mother. Poor Helen has to put up with this behavior and rightfully grows resentful of her husband. To make things worse, Mr. Huntington's horrible friends were frequent visitors at their home. 

    All the men encouraged each other to make poor decisions like drinking more than their usual amount. Arthur Huntington frequently went to London leaving Helen at home alone for months on end. In the beginning, Helen dreaded these visits but as more time went on and Arthur's behavior grew increasingly vile she eagerly looked forward to these trips. During one of the friends' visits to their house, their wives were brought along and Mr. Huntington began to have an affair with the wife of one of his friends: Annabella Lowborough. Everyone soon discovers this affair except for Mr. Lowborough and Helen is forced to be civil with Annabella while she is a guest at their house.

    Honestly, I didn't really care much about the side characters in the story. Mr. Huntington's friends all behaved nearly as bad as him and repulsed me while reading and Helen's friends were pretty boring to read about. Gilbert Markham's first love interest and his family play rather minor, insignificant roles in the story making them unmemorable. The only side character that I was somewhat interested in was Frederick Lawrence, Helen's brother. I would've liked to have learned more about him outside of his relationship with his sister. I felt that the side characters could have been more fleshed out overall. For the most part, they didn't add very much to the story and some of them could have been cut out entirely.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: Contemporary, Classics, Social Criticism

Author: Anne Brontë

Publisher: Thomas Cautley Newby