"A moon was in the sky, not a full moon but a young crescent. I saw her through a space in the boughs overhead. She and the stars, visible beside her, were no strangers where all else was strange: my childhood knew them. I had seen that golden sign with the dark globe in its curve leaning back on azure, beside an old thorn at the top of an old field, in Old England, in long past days, just as it now leaned back beside a stately spire in this continental capital."
(Villette, Chapter 12)
Art by John Jellicoe for the 1906 edition of Villette
Welcome, Janeites, to the first week of Villette. Over the next three weeks I will be covering Charlotte Brontë's third novel as part of our Austen-Brontë reader blog series. Today, we will take a brief yet thoughtful look at Volume I, which spans the first through fifteenth chapters.
Summary and First Impressions
What stands out to me the most about this novel is how frankly and effectively the authoress analyses her characters' psychology. While I am far from the first person to say so, I have been struck by the similarities and differences of Villette from Charlotte Brontë's other first-person, introspective novel, Jane Eyre. Villette's heroine, Lucy, must not only navigate the no-man's land of unanswered affections, but is also tasked with cultivating traits such as self-reliance and fortitude, even in the midst of great personal trial in youth and adolescence.
Villette, many say, is more autobiographical than biographical. Many aspects of the plot come directly from Charlotte Brontë’s own experiences at a Continental boarding school in the early 1840s and her relationship with the proprietor of the school, Monsieur Héger. Villette is a rather perfect example of how a writer can mine their life and memories for creative fodder and execute a truly stunning result.
Villette opens with fourteen-year-old Lucy Snowe, the narrator, residing at her godmother's home in Bretton, England. Incidentally, the surname of Lucy's godmother and her son– who is only slightly older than Lucy– John Graham, is also Bretton. As all good stories must begin with change, change soon comes to the household in the form of a serious, tiny six year old girl named Paulina Home. Called Polly by all, the girl comes to stay with the Brettons due to the recent death of her neglectful mother and her father's health-induced travels. Over the course of her time with the household, Polly and Graham become much attached to each other, a development that Lucy observes from afar. At first, Lucy Snowe seems to be merely an observer of the world around her. Will that always be the case? Polly departs the Bretton family after her father returns with the intention of them both moving to mainland Europe.
Lucy leaves her godmother soon after Polly, for unknown reasons. Kept further mysteriously obscured from the reader, a family tragedy leaves teenaged Lucy penniless, alone, and in need of work. She eventually finds a position as companion and nurse to an ill but wealthy woman, Miss Marchmont, with whom she remains for eight years. After Miss Marchmont's death, Lucy moves to London and hears that there are teaching opportunities abroad. With that in mind, she decides to leave England for Labassecour. (It should here be noted that the wildly enjoyable-to-say Labassecour is a fictitious country modeled after Belgium, where Charlotte Brontë studied and later taught English at Monsieur Héger's Pensionnat.)
Lucy encounters a young woman, Ginevra Fanshawe, on the ship, the latter who reveals there is a need for a teacher and the school she is attending. Thus, they continue to Villette, the great, metropolitan capital of Labassecour, where Lucy is hired to teach English at Madame Beck's school. In addition to this, she must watch the proprietress's three children. Mme. Beck is a sly, insecure woman who shamelessly spies on both students and teachers.
“Peril, loneliness, an uncertain future, are not oppressive evils, so long as the frame is healthy and the faculties are employed; so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, and Hope guides us by her star.” (Villette, Chapter 6)
Dr. John, an English physician, visits the school often at Madame Beck's insistence. Lucy is enamored with him, but so is Ginevra Fanshawe. Unfortunately for our heroine, Dr. John's affections lie with the latter of the two girls. In a surprising turn of events, it is revealed that Dr. John is John Graham Bretton, the son of Lucy's godmother, with both mother and son now residing in Villette. Thus Lucy, after over a decade of separation, visits Mrs. Bretton.
“The negation of severe suffering was the nearest approach to happiness I expected to know. Besides, I seemed to hold two lives - the life of thought, and that of reality.” (Villette, Ch. 8)
Another important character to note is Paul Emanuel, a fellow teacher at Madame Beck's school. His blistering disdain and decisive critiques of all aspects of Lucy's person– both in terms of dress and deportment– cause him to be an annoyance in her life. What causes this censorship? Does it come from a place of care or a place of cruelty?
Then, the term ends, a holiday arrives, the students are fetched away or sent home, and Lucy is left alone at the school. Consumed by loneliness, she becomes both mentally and physically ill. Wandering the city streets one night, Lucy finds her way into a Catholic church– which is interesting as she is Protestant– and confesses to a kindly old priest. But all is not well as a distraught and disoriented Lucy collapses on her return journey to the school.
"...I suddenly felt colder where before I was cold, and more powerless where before I was weak. I tried to reach the porch of a great building near, but the mass of frontage and the giant spire turned black and vanished from my eyes. Instead of sinking on the steps as I intended, I seemed to pitch headlong down an abyss. I remember no more." (Villette, Chapter 15)
With a dash of mystery and healthy dose of Gothic suspense, thus ends Villette, Volume I.
Keep an eye out for the next bite-sized installment of Charlotte Brontë's Villette, covering Volume II or Chapters 16-27, released next Friday, August 30th. A reading guide can be found here. But before we part, dear readers, I would love to know what you think. If you feel inclined, please use the comment feature below to share your opinions of Villette so far.
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