Favorite Classics: Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë's two novels

Welcome to a new series where I talk about some of my favorite classics! The star of this first instalment is one of my favorite classic female authors (probably second only to Jane Austen), Anne Brontë (1820–1849). She’s less famous than her sisters Charlotte and Emily, but I have to say that Anne is my favorite of the Brontë sisters, mostly because I find her love interests more likable.

 

Agnes Grey

Agnes Grey was Anne Brontë’s first novel and came out in 1847, the same year as Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Like Jane Eyre, the main character Agnes Grey works as a governess. Unfortunately, as Anne’s novel came out after Jane Eyre, it was generally thought to be an inferior copy of Charlotte’s novel. However, I must say that I prefer Agnes Grey to Jane Eyre. Its plot doesn’t have a similar scope as Jane Eyre, but I find the plot more realistic.

Like her sister Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey follows the life of a titular character as she works as a governess. Unlike Jane Eyre, though, Agnes Grey is a much more realistic portrayal of the precarious position and hardships of a governess’s life: she doesn’t have just one pupil and a steamy love affair with the master of the house but instead teaches several unruly children while dealing with indulgent mothers and their unreasonable demands, moving from house to house looking for employment. And in every house, she must find her place on the outskirts of the household – not part of the servants but not a member of the household either. No wonder the Victorians preferred Charlotte’s more romanticized view of working as a governess. Jane Eyre was easier to swallow and could make the upper classes feel better about themselves, while Agnes Grey brought the social issues to the foreground.

Despite all the hardships she faces, Agnes is determined to make the most out of her situation, and in the end, she finds love as well in the form of a kind curate Edward Weston. I found their relationship endearing, and I’d choose Edward Weston over Mr. Rochester anytime.

 

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Anne’s second and last novel before her untimely death, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was published in 1848. The narrator Gilbert Markham becomes intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman, who has moved into Wildfell Hall with her young son. Her reclusive behavior raises gossip and suspicions, and Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her is misplaced. It's only after she lets him read her diary that the truth is revealed: Helen has escaped an abusive marriage to her alcoholic husband Arthur Huntingdon in order to protect her son.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is not an easy read with its depiction of alcoholism, adultery, and spousal abuse as well as women’s fight for domestic independence and creative freedom (Helen wants to earn a living as an artist). Needless to say, the Victorian critics found this book coarse and revolting, “utterly unfit to be put into the hands of girls.” The structure of the novel has faced its share of criticism as well: a large part of the novel is backstory told in the form of diary entries. Like in a lot of classics, the pacing is slow, and it doesn’t quite make sense why Helen is so enamored with Arthur at first. The novel is, however, an important early feminist classic and definitely worth the read.