#Villette

[petaltexturedskies]

Charlotte Brontë, Villette

[inartchive]

[flowerytale]

Charlotte Brontë, from Villette

[Text ID: When I vanished—it was into darkness;]

[ravenkings]

i really love the way charlotte brontë writes her male love interests bc for the a-tier ones she always has her heroines be like "he's a weird ugly mean little freak absolutely DRIPPING with rizz and i NEED him carnally" and for the b-tier ones they're always like "finance, trust fund, 6'5, blue eyes 🤮🤮"

[unfayth]

I really like this edition’s covers

[adobongsiopao]

Man, this confession is painful. I feel you Charlotte.

[the-fairy-thing]

[must4rds33d]

[gcantread]

some August reads and planned reads | JOMP book photo challenge | 1 August 2024

[grusik]

by Seb, Remio, Snir & Crase To be seen in bigger size at www.flickr.com/photos/_man_/53886598548/sizes/o/ by Man - Art is Life / Duck 4 Life

[burningvelvet]

Ranking all the Brontë novels + briefly reviewing The Professor

I finally finished The Professor by Charlotte Brontë, which means I HAVE COMPLETED ALL THE BRONTË NOVELS, which means I can now rank them. This is a rough order, but brief explanations will be given...

As an aside, bc I don't want to make a separate post for my review of The Professor, but I did note several strong similarities to Jane Eyre (the female lead's description, her elvish comparisons) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Hunsden/Huntington as the cynic, although the former is mostly good and the latter mostly bad). Really all the Brontë novels are very similar so there are tons of more common themes I could mention but won't. Also, more references to Scottish besties Walter Scott & Lord Byron!

Now for my official Brontë Book Ranking (which may be subject to change over the years...)

7. Shirley - I would like to revisit this one. There are some great gems in it, and I'm fascinated by the Luddism subject matter. It is also a strong contender for the most feminist Brontë novel and has probably the most in-depth female relationships which does count for something. But it's SO UNNECESSARILY LONG! And often boring! And it took me the longest to finish. So it has to be last.

6. The Professor - this one benefits from not being Shirley. It's also a good attempt at a first novel I think. It has some gems, but it's often boring like Shirley is in my opinion. I thought the main male, Crimsworth, was a bit more exciting to follow than any of the men in Shirley. I actually think Crimsworth is a pretty inspiring figure and I enjoyed his observations and his anti-work rhetoric. Like most Brontë protagonists, he's a teacher who experiences classism, poverty, and oppression, and manages to overcome these things through frugality, faith, love, hope, etc.

5. Agnes Grey - it's hard to get through at times but it's generally worth it and has a strong pay off. I think Anne's writing style is generally enjoyable. It's has a lot of the horror of Wuthering Heights and the lighter parts of Jane Eyre but it lacks Charlotte and Emily's stronger passions and has more of Anne's calm reasoning, faith, and stoicism. That makes it sound more boring than it really is maybe. I also think it's fascinating for being largely semi-autobiographical like Charlotte's works can be. We get to "know" Anne more than we do in Tenant I feel, and I think she's pretty admirable. The bird scene was based on a real experience she had as a governess, and she wrote most of the novel as a rebellious act in her room right after work. All teachers and childcare workers – and really all women and members of the working-class – should take this novel as the cautionary tale it was written to be.

4. Villette - this is the weirdest Brontë novel. Some interesting scenes and characters. Charlotte's last novel shows far more writerly evolution than in Shirley where she was again trying for more progressive social commentary (and mostly succeeded I think) but often fell back into the more sedate or conventional nature that parts of The Professor has (saving Crimsworth's sometimes strong, sassy, rebellious attitude). Villette was written in a strange period of grief for Charlotte and it shows. Villette is basically Jane Eyre's weirder older sister.

3 and 2 are almost tied for me. I have also written about 3, 2, and 1 so much on my blog that I probably won't go into as much detail as I have with the others.

3. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - shockingly underrated. Hard to get through, but so is Wuthering Heights which it's pretty similar to at times. Radically progressive and daring, it is a strong contender for being the most feminist Brontë novel and the most oriented toward social justice (although they really all are). Brilliant use of mystery and gothic allure with a social realism that was too ahead of its time to fall into the common traps of that genre. Has everything you could want in a Brontë novel.

2. Wuthering Heights - a bomb in your face. Full of passion. Grand drama. What can I say? It's infamous for valid reasons. Never a boring moment, which instantly pushes it to the top of the list for me who am easily bored. I have elaborated on this work very often on my page so I don't feel the need to reiterate everything here but I will say that this novel has basically everything you could want.

1. Jane Eyre - has all the gothic mystery and passion of Wuthering Heights but focuses on fewer characters whose arcs thus feel more personable and fulfilling in my opinion. We get to know Jane and Rochester much more fully than almost any of the other Brontë characters I feel. And it is my love for the characters that really makes this one my favorite Brontë novel as well as one of my favorite tales of all time (whereas Heights is notorious for its unlikeable characters which actually repel many readers from enjoying it). No wonder it's the most adapted and tied with Wuthering Heights for being the most famous (although I think it may have surpassed Wuthering Heights in pop culture at times). I also think there are a lot of really meaningful themes, morals, and subjects that are explored in this novel, which again can be said of all Brontë novels, but it all feels so much more full in this one. The plot itself is also the most well-crafted in my opinion, and it has one of the greatest twists in all of literature/media imo.

[petaltexturedskies]

Charlotte Brontë, Villette

[viillette]

lucy and ginevra

[paris-in-a-whisper]

La Pluie Et Vous.

[ravenkings]

m. paul in villette is literally so funny. like 10x more absurd than rochester if that's even possible. and what i enjoy about this book also is that charlotte brontë makes it extremely clear that he is supposed to be considered a bit ridiculous, which seems to be something that flies over the heads of a lot of people in regards to rochester in jane eyre.

like i just read a scene in which m. paul comes to a study hall where lucy and the students at madame beck's are quietly working and he tries to take a seat on a bench right in between lucy and ginevra who's like squished up next to her and when lucy scoots away to give him more room he freaks the fuck out and is like "SO I'M A PARIAH TO YOU NOW???? 😖😤" and then he makes all the students at the table get up and go to another table and then sits at the other end of the table lucy is still at and is like "IS THIS ENOUGH DISTANCE FOR YOU???? 😡😔" and lucy's like "idgaf i'm just chilling”

and then AFTERWARDS he comes up to her awkwardly and is like "whatcha doin? 🧍‍♂️👀" and she's like "making something for one of my guy friends" and he's like "😠😠😠 you are so rude and i take it very personally that you insist on hanging out around handsome 6'5 english doctors 😫😫😫" and THEN he's like "btw (even though you looked really hot in it ����🔥🥵🥵) i CANNOT believe you wore a slutty SCARLET (actually pink) dress that one time and wear flowers in your bonnet and a ribbon around your neck truly you need to be more modest like you were before (and not try to impress the Sexy Doctor)😔😔"

and then lucy's like "ok fair but....................................................................................................................................................................can i still wear a ribbon around my neck and flowers in my bonnet if they're small?"

and m. paul is like "...yes."

[writtenbyamelia]

⭐️🎶📖💕

Spotify playlists for

- Villette by Charlotte Brontë

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

- Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

- Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë