books 2011 // # 21 - Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Title: Villette
Author: Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855)
Publication Date: 1853.
Genre: Classics. Victorian. 19th Century Literature.
Page Count: 507.
Summary: With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls' boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster, and her own complex feelings, first for the school's English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor, Paul Emmanuel. Charlotte Brontë's last and most autobiographical novel is a powerfully moving study of isolation and the pain of unrequited love, narrated by a heroine determined to preserve an independent spirit in the face of adverse circumstances. [Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Great characterization | Very slow pacing & overblown style | A book you need to be in the right mood for | Interesting if viewed through a feminist lens |
Personal Rating: ◊ ◊ ◊ of 5.
Review:
I tried my hand at this book a couple of years ago and got stuck around page 200 or so. Nevertheless I got curious again recently and decided to give it another try.
Indeed the story seems to flow much better this time around, though I think I've been able to identify what put me off the first time.
On the one hand there's the French - with no translations. I'm ambiguous about this as my school-French stems from years ago and I didn't understand everything. On the other hand, it was fun to get back into the language.
Either way, it slowed down the flow of the story considerably.
Next to that, there's the style. While the characterization is amazing and unique (for instance the Headmistress or Miss Fanshawe are great) and the setting, too, is described in wonderful lively detail, I had a problem with the author's tendency to get off topic. I.e. the heroine, Lucy Snowe, wants to say that it's cold. In order to do so, she embarks on a three-page excursion involving the relationship between angels and mortals, cruel fate and some semi-poetic descriptions of drapery or whatever happens to inspire her. In my opinion this does not only disrupt the flow of the narration but it also bears some sort of forced feeling of "Hey! Look at me! I'm deep and meaningful! Marvel at the way I can play with words!"
So overall, while I can appreciate the excellent characterization, I still couldn't warm up to the characters themselves. Villette is a clever and doubtlessly well-crafted book (i.e. just look at the way weather and storms in particular are used as a leitmotif throughout the book!) but it still feels a bit too well-crafted to me. It feels, very subjectively seen of course, too much as if the author wants to show how great she is and the story matters less than that.
I have to gleefully admit that I knew M. Paul Emanuel was going to die. I guessed it from the moment the word "ship" came into play.
Finally I have to address one more point that stood out very positively to me:Lucy as her own, independent woman. While I could have been more impressed with the general style, I did love Lucy's independence.
I'd say Villette is a book you need to be in the right mood for.
Links: @ wikipedia
Other books I've read by this author: Jane Eyre (1847).