#lucysnowe

[sowingseedsandshootinghoops]

A Study: Lucy Snowe in “Villette”

A note on the text: I used Charlotte Bronte’s Villette as published in 2004 by Signet Classics

I love the book Jane Eyre and while Villette isn’t quite as good as that classic, it has a protagonist, Lucy Snowe, that has as much depth and subtlety as the one in Bronte’s magnus opus does. I love the way in which this book hints at Lucy’s subtilties in small, seemingly insignificant ways.

Lucy Snowe is very Puritanical in a lot of ways. She dislikes frivolity and really dislikes any excessive displays of emotion. She prizes herself on being in complete control of herself and her emotions. She having peace and tranquility in her life and tends to shy away from anything that would disturb that peace. When she reflects on her time spent in her childhood home she says that her time there went “not with tumultuous swiftness, but blandly like the gliding of a full river through the plane. . . . The charm of variety was not there, nor the excitement of incident; but I liked peace so well, and sought stimulus so little, that when the latter came, I almost felt it a disturbance, and wished it had still held aloof”, and later admits that she only changes once she has been “stimulated into action” and that she has to be “goaded, driven, [and] forced” to do anything (4, 40). It makes sense therefore why she struggles to relate to people like the flirtatious and ditzy Ginevra Fanshawe. While Lucy is emotionally restrained and generally avoids doing anything to “disturb the peace”, Ginevra is an emotional firecracker who enjoys stirring up stuff wherever she goes. Yet Bronte skillfully shows at various points in the story that underneath Lucy’s stoic exterior beats a very human, emotional heart. 

For the bulk of the story Lucy is an English teacher working at an all girls boarding school, run by the equally stoic Mrs. Beck, in Villette, a fictional French town, and for a while it seems like the two are a match made in Heaven. Yet, it eventually becomes evident that Lucy isn’t as happy there as she initially thought she would be. It’s not really until she meets little Georgette that she begins to realize just how lonely she is: “Her clasp and the nestling action with which she pressed her cheeks to mine, made me almost cry with a tender pain. Feeling of no kind abounded in that house; this pure little drop from a pure source was too sweet: it penetrated deep, [subdued] the heart, and sent a gush to the eyes” (134). However this proves to be only a “temporary lapse in judgment” at least until Dr John Graham Bretton shows up.

It’s not until Dr. John comes onto the scene where we really see Lucy wrestle with her emotions. She loves John, but something deep inside of her keeps her from fully expressing herself to him. Feelings, in her mind, lead only to disappointment and pain. She can’t get disappointed, heart broken and hurt if she doesn’t allow herself to get attached to anyone. No good can come from her telling John how much she loves him. Or at least that’s what she thinks. But there is something else, something deep inside of her, something outside of the realm of reason that dares to hope that things might be different. Reason tells her that she should keep her mouth shut and yet, for the first time, Lucy admits that she hates how 

this hag, this Reason, would not let me look up, or smile, or hope; she could not rest [until I was] altogether crushed, cowed, broken in and broken down. According to her, I was born only to work for a piece of bread, to await the pains of death, and steadily through all life to despond. Reason might be right; yet no wonder we are all glad at times to defy her; to rush from under her rod and give a truant hour to  Imagination- her soft, bright foe, our sweet Help, our divine Hope. We shall and must break bounds at intervals, despite the terrible revenge that awaits our return. . . . Long I should have died of [Reason’s] ill usage. . . but for that kinder Power (257). 

That’s why she has to be pushed as hard as she does to do anything: her overly critical mind has the tendency to stamp out her ability and desire to do anything with her life. I bet there are a lot of people who know what that feels like. 

Happiness is something that lives somewhat outside the realm of reason. It is something that has be to experienced out there in the real world. It cannot be cultivated, worked on, or reasoned with. Happiness, as Lucy later says, “is not a potato to be planted in mold and tilled in manure” (282). You have to risk getting your heart broken in order to experience true happiness.

However the true power of Bronte’s skill as a writer comes in the way that Lucy changes throughout the course of the novel while maintaining the qualities that make her so unique. She learns how to feel, how to let love into her life, but never quite shakes the old Puritanical quality of self control. It eventually becomes evident that Dr John loves Paulina and while Lucy is happy for them, she still struggles with feelings of jealousy. So while on the surface she seems stoic and unattached, underneath there is a brewing cauldron of emotion. Look at how she describes the way that John watches Paulina with only the slightest sense of jealousy seeping through: “[John] followed with his eye the gilded glance of Paulina’s thimble as if it had been some bright moth on the wing, or the golden head of some darting yellow serpent” (329). I love how all throughout the book, Bronte shows us again and again, and in very subtle ways, that there are ore things going on inside this character than there seems to be. 

Charlotte Bronte is an incredible writer who allows her characters to have incredible depth. Lucy is an incredible rich character full of depth and complexity. She is pretty unique in the way that she hints at emotions that are bubbling right underneath the surface, the ways in which she allows her character to grow and change while retaining her essential uniqueness. It’s quite a unique and beautiful gift.

[cryptidclaw]

Blood Order Allegiances, 2nd arc: City

This is the allegiance for the cats who chose to stay in Blood Order's old abandoned city territory. This group becomes known as the Band of Blood, they are not important to the plot, and most of them are made up/ non canon characters that I had used to fill space!

I thought I would still make an allegiance for these guys tho!

Note: cycle = year, moon = month, Hyrs = Human years; I tried to list the cats under each category in order of oldest to youngest. 

Band of Blood

Leader:

Clawswipe - a short furred, heavily scarred, brown and white tom with bronze eyes. wears a tooth studded collar. (10 cycles, 8 moons; ~58 Hyrs)

Second:

Softyclaw - a silver tabby and white tom with green eyes. wears a tooth studded collar. (7 cycles, 9 moons; 47 Hyrs)

Healer(s):

Coyotegrass - a scarred brown tabby and white tom with yellow eyes. (9 cycles; 53 Hyrs)

Hunt Charge:

Poptart - a pale ginger tabby and white tom with blue eyes. Wears a collar. (5 cycles, 6 moons; 38 Hyrs)

Guard Charge:

Ragehackle - a red tabby tom with patchy fur and green eyes. wears a tooth studded collar. (2 cycles, 6 moons; 26 Hyrs)

Warriors:

Lucysnow - a large golden tabby molly with amber eyes.  (10 cycles, 1 moons; ~56 Hyrs)

Fluffyfang - a white molly with green eyes and a paralyzed front leg. wears a tooth studded collar. (7 cycles, 9 moons; 47 Hyrs)

Boilpool - a gray tom with green eyes. (4 cycles, 4 moon; ~33 Hyrs)

Veracatcher - a brown molly with a white spot over her eye and amber eyes. (3 cycles, 9 moons; 31 Hyrs)

Shattergaze - a silver molly with hazel eyes. (2 cycles, 6 moons; 26 Hyrs)

Toastnose - a brown and white tom with one blue and one yellow eye. (2 cycles; 24 Hyrs)

Honeysucklemoss (1 cycle, 7 moons; ~22 Hyrs)

Caretakers:

Chainsaw - a dark red tom with one missing eye and one amber eye.  (6 cycles, 7 moons; ~42 Hyrs)

Bootspaws - a pale brown tabby and white molly with pale blue eyes. Wears a collar. (3 cycles, 4 moon; ~29 Hyrs)

Sugarmouse - a white tom with blue eyes (2 cycles; 24 Hyrs)

Queens:

Mintypath - a long furred gray molly with blue eyes. (2 cycles, 4 moons; ~25 Hyrs)

Elders:

Lichenfur - a short furred gray spotted tabby molly with amber eyes. (12 cycles, 5 moons; ~65 Hyrs)

Tangle - a large long furred brown tabby tom with amber eyes. (11 cycles, 10 moons; ~63 Hyrs)

[rescuethewretched]

this is my humble submission for your follower celebration:

name: joanna

pronouns: she/her

preferred gender: none

interests etc: beyond star wars, i really like reading (scifi, fantasy, classics are my preferred genres) and writing (also sff mostly), but I also play guitar (badly), crochet (mostly stuffed animals and i think i'm halfway decent at that), and i really like animation, fantasy, period dramas, and comedy tv shows and movies, and i'm also a huge musical fan (great comet and les mis are my two faves!) i also play very lame video games like webkinz and animal crossing and have a passion for various things i am too old for like barbie, webkinz, other stuffies, and disney (parks, movies, and channel. oof).

astrology: i'm a virgo (sun) and im also a capricorn and a taurus but i forget which goes where I just know i apparently have an unusually large amount of earth signs and i'm also told that makes sense with my personality so

love language: i like to give gifts, and to a lesser extent quality time, and i like to receive words of affirmation (especially written ones, like heartfelt letters are some of my favorite things to receive). i'm not big on physical touch unless its someone i really love + trust.

what i want in a partner: i've been in very few relationships, but I think something that's important to me is that someone gets me and my quirks (both personality and interest-wise) and respects them, as someone who is into some more uncommon stuff (like the kids stuff lol) and am kind of insecure about it, and also someone who is reliable and trustworthy. but, i also like someone i can joke around with and who'll make me laugh.

i love that you're doing this and i'm excited to see who you'll pair me with!

hello, joanna! thank you for submitting ❤️ your match is … Rey!

* i personally headcannon rey as a water sign so the fact that you have so much earth in your chart? y’all are gonna be SOULMATES

* your passion? that’s gonna be rey’s favorite thing about you. rey herself has a variety of Strange interests (I mean, she was a scavenger and knows like every ship part known to man so like!!) and she would love to just. infodump back and forth with you and she’d be heart eyes the entire time

* rey is just a beacon of goodness and she’s got the “best gf ever” package on lock. you’re sick? she’s getting you soup. not feeling your best? she’ll write you post it notes with everything she loves about you through out the day!!! she definitely drinks “I love my gf” juice

* I think most importantly, there’s a mutual sense of understanding and respect between you two. she wasn’t surrounded by a lot of love growing up and I think she would just. treasure you. she’d let you know every single day! which is what u deserve, bestie!

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED

[villadiodatis]

no more aliens

i just reblogged the last aliens from my likes so you're spared for now but they will be back to get you specifically

[perrypixel]

if ur still taking gif requests for rott can you do nomura and or stricklers deaths so i can cry (thank you i love your gif work)

done

[ergothereforethus]

are you accepting duel requests

yes I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning in triplicate

[ohmagdalene]

plo koon

thank you for your input

[francescadarimini]

are u from florida?????

no, i am not, although i used to work there a lot! why?

[alisoncooper]

lucysnowe replied to your post “belle really lived in a small, poor town in france in the 18th century...”

unfortunately theres literally a ya disney-sponsored sequel book coming out that it is like exactly that......

lmao!!!!!! i can’t wait to see how they decide to give the book a happy ending........will they stop the revolution somehow?? will they be given a reprieve??? will they manage to run to another country?? WHO KNOWS but it’ll be a Mess regardless!

[hazeykatie2]

Does anyone else remember that scene in "Villette" where Lucy Snowe buries her cherished letters from Dr. John and conquers her love for him, because I've been thinking about it often lately. #villette #Charlottebronte #lucysnowe #unrequitedlove #literature #quotes #thisisamood https://www.instagram.com/p/B4x5brYhx22/?igshid=f8t4vxtchrpl

[emmareadsforfun]

So I went book shopping with my brother and came across this old illustrated edition of Villette by Charlotte Brontë. Now y'all know Emily is my favorite Brontë, but I loved Villettte because Lucy Snowe was such an interesting character to follow. I'm still trying to figure out how old it is, so if you know please tell me because I'm dying of curiosity 😭 .~*•*~*•*~*•*~*•*~*•*~*•*~*•*~. #villette #yesiknowthatsswitzerlandnotbrussels #oldbooks #art #wood #gothic #gothicliterature #illustrated #charlottebrontë #charlottebronte #oldedition #antique #victorian #victorianliterature #womenauthors #feminist #lucysnowe #bookworm #booknerd #rva #bookstagram #emmareadsforfun (at Richmond, Virginia)

[dessapython]

@lucysnowe I'm your Secret Santa!

I hope you enjoy some very sleepy Trollhunters 😁

[rescuethewretched]

which sw character would you most like to see work in a customer service job

kylo ren, mans needs to be knocked down a couple pegs

[villadiodatis]

put kenobi on your blog

jo I will reblog things later tonight I promise

[perrypixel]

requested by @lucysnowe

[ergothereforethus]

*hogs your hedge*

nice try; my hog has been hedged since the very beginning