590 pages
English language
Published March 16, 2001 by Modern Library.
Left by harrowing circumstances to fend for herself in the great capital of a foreign country, Lucy Snowe achieves by degrees an authentic independence from both outer necessity and inward grief. Charlotte Brontë's contemporary George Eliot wrote of Villette, "There is something almost preternatural in its power." The deceptive stillness and security of a girl's school provide the setting for this 1853 novel, Brontë's last. Modelled on Brontë's own experiences as a student and teacher in Brussels, Villette is the sombre but engrossing story of Lucy Snowe, an unmarried Englishwoman making her way in a culture deeply foreign to her. The heroine's relationships with the fiery professor M. Paul, the cool Englishman Dr. John, and the school's powerful headmistress, Madame Beck, are described in her compelling and enigmatic first-person narration. This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction by Kate Lawson and Lynn Shakinovsky. The many contextual documents include contemporary writings …
Left by harrowing circumstances to fend for herself in the great capital of a foreign country, Lucy Snowe achieves by degrees an authentic independence from both outer necessity and inward grief. Charlotte Brontë's contemporary George Eliot wrote of Villette, "There is something almost preternatural in its power." The deceptive stillness and security of a girl's school provide the setting for this 1853 novel, Brontë's last. Modelled on Brontë's own experiences as a student and teacher in Brussels, Villette is the sombre but engrossing story of Lucy Snowe, an unmarried Englishwoman making her way in a culture deeply foreign to her. The heroine's relationships with the fiery professor M. Paul, the cool Englishman Dr. John, and the school's powerful headmistress, Madame Beck, are described in her compelling and enigmatic first-person narration. This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction by Kate Lawson and Lynn Shakinovsky. The many contextual documents include contemporary writings on surveillance and espionage, anti-Catholicism, and working women, as well as letters describing Brontë's own time in Brussels. - Back cover.
There are no words I have for this book. It gets as close as any book can to my version of the perfect story. Lucy Snowe has just captured my heart and my soul, and after almost a month of not touching this book, her grip on me is as tight as ever. Needless to say, I wish I had read Jane Eyre before reading this. That way, I wouldn't be setting myself up for failure with Jane Eyre.
What a heart-wrenching story! In Villette, Charlotte Bronte forces the reader to feel all of Lucy Snowe's depression, angst, and anxiety, juxtaposed against the lives of others who are much more fortunate. Lucy is a young woman who has already learned to survive life's misfortunes in such a brave, stoic way--and yet, she cannot help but have hope. Her inner turmoil is not fathomed by those around her, and she is quite ignored by most. Lucy learns to prefer being alone, though it is this very solitary confinement that does her mental harm. Lucy struggles with her feelings toward others, her need for friendship and love. People, people, all around, but no one who understands--except one. Ah, but this doesn't mean that there's an easy, happy ending.
Lucy's life may be very circumscribed, but there's plenty of emotional upheaval and action in this story. The writing has its circumloquacious passages, …
What a heart-wrenching story! In Villette, Charlotte Bronte forces the reader to feel all of Lucy Snowe's depression, angst, and anxiety, juxtaposed against the lives of others who are much more fortunate. Lucy is a young woman who has already learned to survive life's misfortunes in such a brave, stoic way--and yet, she cannot help but have hope. Her inner turmoil is not fathomed by those around her, and she is quite ignored by most. Lucy learns to prefer being alone, though it is this very solitary confinement that does her mental harm. Lucy struggles with her feelings toward others, her need for friendship and love. People, people, all around, but no one who understands--except one. Ah, but this doesn't mean that there's an easy, happy ending.
Lucy's life may be very circumscribed, but there's plenty of emotional upheaval and action in this story. The writing has its circumloquacious passages, but that is mostly my twenty-first century taste. This is a wonderfully written tome.
