Villette is a book I don't hear much about, so let's talk about it. Written by Charlotte Bronte, it is about Lucy Snowe. I went into it knowing nothing.
When I started getting more into it, I discovered that Lucy Snowe was without family and looking for work. She gets on a boat on a guided whim, goes to a French speaking country, and ends up at Villette. She has money, but not very much. This is the story of a woman looking for work, who also has nothing to lose. She is going on whims, or if you read it as guidance, God's guidance. Every whim or guided suggestion pays off, so I would classify it as God's guidance.
Here's the thing about Charlotte Bronte's life when she wrote Villette; she wrote this after her sisters died. The hope you saw in Jane Eyre is definitely not the same because the author was not as lonely then. It explores her depression and ill mental health. You know Lucy is mourning, you know Lucy is alone, and you know she's not okay. Neither is the author. You are not reading a happy-go-lucky story. Accept that before you pick this up. Lucy Snowe is not okay and Charlotte Bronte is not in a great mental state when she writes this. Charlotte was also one of the last in her family to die of Consumption, which killed her entire family. Charlotte and her father were the last to hold onto life.
Before you begin reading this book
Context you need:
1. Lucy is 14 in the first scene and Graham is a teenager as well
2. Polly Home is 6 years old in the first scenes
3. Lucy is still teenage whenever she is wandering the streets
You'll also need to translate a lot of French. Keep that device out when you read this, unless you are fluent in French. I know Google Translate can mess up, but it helps. There are short conversations that require you to translate French. I've been trying to write in the general gist of the phrase or the full translation in my copy of the book. I'd suggest book sticky notes for that task, as my copy does not have wide margins.
Here is a resource to use when reading Villette:
B.English Literature Guide: English Translations of French in Villette by Charlotte Brontë (Chapters 7-14)
B.English Literature Guide: English Translations of French in Villette by Charlotte Brontë (Ch 15-41)
I highly suggest using these links to translate the French in this book. It makes reading the book so much easier. I almost gave up and these helped me push through. You still need a translation app, though, because some phrases didn't get translated. Kindle can translate French, so if you think you'll have an issue reading it because of the French, go ahead and get the kindle version.
My actual review
I started this book and read many chapters in one session, but once I got to the random French conversations, I struggled. Why? Because the students flip between English and French - and when you don't translate it, you lose the context you need to understand the storyline. That and the fact it was harder to finish leads me to my star rating; I'm going to give this four stars.
Also, our main character is deeply depressed and kind of Puritanical (Puritan-like, doesn't pursue her own pleasures). When rainstorms happen, she goes into depression episodes. She feels alone in the world and doesn't connect with others easily, or at all. You begin to feel her loneliness as the book continues on. She has no one left, according to her own words, and sits alone in a garden. This is clearly depression, and if you've ever felt this you'll understand her. It also makes the book hard to read.
After you get past the fifty percent mark, you'll find she's entering a romance with Dr. John "Grahame" Bretton. It really lifts the book from its depression in many ways. It shows you she can have some happiness, although she mentions "remembering" him - like he's dead by the time she wrote her story out. This was written in retrospect and not in the present, according to our narrator. What I've found is that she's actually socializing after the point of running into her godmother and Polly Home (who now has a title).
One of the characters takes it upon himself to get all in Lucy's business. M. Paul Emmanuel likes to antagonize her about her Protestantism, her general life choices, and anything else that's not his business. He goes out of his way to do this. He's sticking his nose in her business (after the fifty percent mark of the book) about every other chapter. I didn't like him at first, but he has a redemption arc. He's a butthole when you first meet him. His opinions on English women and Protestants suck. And yet, this is our love interest.... It's Rochester from Jane Eyre all over again (same author). He does do sweet things for Lucy as time goes on, but still, he says a lot of things to her that he shouldn't. Fortunately, she takes none of his crap and snaps back. By the end, he's accepted her Protestantism won't change and has his mentioned redemption arc.
Did Paul Emanuel die? It is as clear as mud. It could go both ways. Maybe he did die on the seven day storm or maybe he didn't. One line says "let them picture union and a happy succeeding life" (so maybe he lived) and the storm depiction suggests he might have died. Nobody actually knows. I'll ask Charlotte Bronte when I see her in Heaven because we can't ask her now (she's been dead for a while).
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Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship?
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