Victorians! discussion

Welcome to the first week of our discussion of Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, her third and final novel and said to be her most autobiographical. The book is a revisit of sorts of her first novel, The Professor, exploring the same themes, but taking it to a very different level indeed—in the words of May Sinclair in the introduction to one edition, ‘in all the great scenes, the great passages of Villette, imagination and actuality are fused in one supreme act of creation’ (Sinclair by the way, does not see Villette as a rewrite of The Professor).

This week’s developments
Narrated in the voice of our ‘heroine’, Lucy Snowe (whose name incidentally we don’t even learn until the second chapter), our story commences with an introduction of Lucy’s godmother, Mrs Bretton of Bretton, whose family may have got their name, associated with the town where they live, mostly likely from some famous ancestor. We learn that Lucy as a child visited her godmother’s home twice a year where ‘in a quiet way’ she is taken notice of a great deal by Mrs Bretton. Mrs Bretton’s only son, Graham is away at school.

The visit we spend time with her on, though, is a prolonged one, that lasts six months, and it is during this visit that another visitor comes to Mrs Bretton. This is a child—six-year-old Polly or Paulina Home, whose mother, estranged from her father has recently died and who is to stay here till her father Mr Home recovers from health complications brought on by his wife’s death. Polly is deeply attached to Mr Home and can’t bear the thought of a separation-her attachment to her father more than apparent during his two-day visit (where she takes on the role of his carer).

But at that time, Graham, who is sixteen is also back home, and having developed a strange interest in Lucy almost bets that he will win her affections so much that she will prefer him over her father and so he does, such that when the time comes for Polly to join her father, she is upset and even reluctant to do so. But she does with Lucy’s assurances that Graham won’t forget her. And Lucy too, returns home after her visit.

Then we have a sort of time jump—eight years that Lucy claims to have spent rather idyllically—but during which she has also lost touch with the Brettons, who are also reduced in means. Some tragedy has struck Lucy though we don’t yet learn its exact nature, though a ship (real or metaphorical we don’t know) and storm are involved. But she must now make her way in the world (with no means of her own, though her family would have been well off earlier since we know she had a governess and a leisurely existence). Now she takes a place as nurse and companion to Miss Marchmont with whom she gets along fairly well. While Miss Marchmont shares her own tragic love story with Lucy and wishes to do something for her, before this can happen, she passes away, again foreseen by an omen, a storm.

Lucy decides to travel to London, with her meagre fortune—15 pounds.

Characters:
This first segment has introduced us to quite a few characters, all of whom fall in some way or other outside the ‘ordinary’ mould, especially the children:

Mrs Bretton: handsome, tall, well-made, ‘dark’ but with a clearness of health; Mrs Bretton seems to know how to deal with her charges be it Lucy, Polly, or Graham whom she doesn’t refrain from correcting when needed, yet it seems they are all indulged as they would like to be

Graham: 16 years old, ‘handsome, faithless-looking’, auburn hair, Celtic looks; in many ways, the typical adolescent, yet also quite focused on his studies. Yet he seems to develop an interest in little Polly whose affections he does manage to win; he seems to enjoy her company but of course, unsurprisingly when his friends are around, he can as much do without her.

Polly/Pauline Home: 6-years-old, self-possessed, mature and confident to quite an extent, she seems much of the time comfortable taking on an almost maternal role, whether it is to her father or Graham; looks like a doll—delicate neck, head of silky curls; she is prickly, and sad—both understandably, but somehow not the typical child.

Mr Home: Polly’s father: proud and homely looking; attached to Polly as she is to him; able to engage in intelligent conversation; but so impacted by his estranged wife’s death that his health has been deeply impacted.

What did you make of them?

Our narrator:
Lucy was someone I wanted to pick up separately, since she is our central character and narrator as well. In this first instalment, or initial set of chapters, one thing that stands out is that she tells us a fair bit of detail about the people she is moving amidst or living with, be it the Brettons or Polly or Mr Home for that matter, yet we learn precious little about herself and her family—who they were, what their circumstances were, what precisely was that tragedy which impacted them?

The second issue that stands out is her character: she too seems unlike the ‘ordinary’ child—we haven’t really learnt her age at the time that she is staying with the Brettons, but she seems almost detached from all that is going on merely an observer and her few interactions with Polly that come to light show her in somewhat a cold light; then, when she is older and companion to Miss Marchmont, she not only does her work efficiently, she does manage to develop an attachment with Miss Marchmont—should we see this as a difference between narrator and character, or did you think she was cold and detached but softened later.

Storms/Winds/Omens:
Signs and portents are something I’ve noticed playing a role in other Charlotte Brontë fiction too; here storms seem to play that role, brought up when we are told of the tragedy that struck Lucy and then again, the night before Miss Marchmont passed away. What did you think?

Women vs Men:
Something that also stands out in its themes; we have Polly taking on almost stereotypically womanly roles vis-à-vis her father and Graham, and even making a distinction between their occupations when arguing about why Graham needs sweet cake while the girls (herself and Lucy) don’t. Then Lucy, after tragedy strikes is of course forced to take to the more traditional occupation of companion (in the not untypical situation where ‘self0reliance and exertion were forced upon me by circumstances’.).

Bonds/Relationships/Friendships:
We see a deep bond between Polly and her father; Mrs Bretton seems fairly attached to Graham too; and an odd friendship or attachment develops between Graham and Polly, and then to an extent, a friendship between Lucy and Miss Marchmont; Lucy seems attached at the level she can be to Mrs Bretton but her observations on Lucy show lesser concern, more the observer than the character; we know she is attached to her family but we learn precious little about them.

So what did you think of this week’s chapters?

Glad to hear you enjoyed these initial chapters, Lucia🙂 I agree. I felt the ship reference or rather comparison of her life more broadly was most likely metaphorical as well, but the storm or wind as an omen was more real foreshadowing as you say what was to come.

What did you make of the characters we've met so far?

Great introductory thoughts Lady C. I’m really looking forward to this book, I think I read it many years ago but remember almost nothing so it will be good to read it with a group.

I enjoyed meeting the characters - at first Lucy seemed a little dull but she certainly showed a quiet determination in the way she dealt with adversity. I felt her quiet reserved approach allowed her to build up relationships - Polly was quite rude and dismissive to her at first but by the end Lucy was comforting her in her bed, and she also built a good companionship with Miss Marchmont. Miss Marchmont’s story was a sad but quite revealing one. Polly was an odd child, rather intense in her dealings with other people particularly Graham.

Many of the characters have to deal with sudden and unexpected change - Mr Home’s decision to go abroad alone and then to take Polly, Mrs Bretton losing her money and moving to London, Lucy’s family bereavement and then the death of Miss Marchmont. There’s a lot of upheaval and the theme of storms ties in to this, as each time it presages some kind of disaster.

I’m interested to see what happens next to Lucy.

Thanks Pamela🙂 same here, it's been quite a while since I read the book.

Yes, she does manage to build a kind of 'friendship' with Polly, but I think Polly perhaps becomes so deeply attached to one person--first her father, then Graham, it becomes difficult to develop effective relationships with others. Odd she certainly is or at least very different from the usual. Graham too, in that sense struck me as such since one does usually see an adolescent get that fond of one so small.

True Lucia, Lucy is a rather complex character--an enigma perhaps that we are to work out as our story goes on, at least so it would seem at this point. She seems from these first chapters to focus attention away from herself and on the others. So one does wonder whether this will change or will Lucy Snowe simply remain the eyes through whom we see others

This is my second reading of Villette after a period of many years. It left an impression on me then and already the first five chapters have gripped my attention once more.

Lucy Snowe’s first twenty two years are described rather mysteriously. The introductory chapters focus exclusively on her time away from home and even then the main emphasis was on her observation of the relationship between Graham and Paulina. I did sense a slight resentment that Lucy felt snubbed by them both as if she was jealous of their warm emotional relationship.
Her desire for such a relationship was more evident when she went to work for Mrs. Marchmont even though Lucy was aware how repressive that relationship might be. I got the impression that her life at home must have been devoid of close personal friendships and that she had developed the attitudes of a loner.
The wind/storm and ship metaphors were intriguing, particularly on the night of Mrs. Marchmont’s death, when there seemed to be a supenatural feel lingering in the background when the old lady told her story of her long lost lover.

Its started to happen a little already, Lucy becoming more central I mean, with Miss Marchmont a little and then with her arrival in London

Same here,Trev.

The point you bring up of jealousy or her feeling left out is interesting and not one I'd considered since she seemed so distant and aloof.

She certainly doesn't mention any friends at home, though her life amidst her family does appear to have been a happy one.

The supernatural touches are something I've been noticing in her books. On my last visit of Jane Eyre, I felt there were some of these too

I estimate that Lucy is about 11 when she meets 6y old Polly. The introduction of a doll-like, precocious younger girl into the household where Lucy has been getting all the attention definitely triggers resentment and jealousy. Lucy sees herself as the cool, controlled and sensible one, while Polly is ridiculously "sensitive".

These sudden, dangerous natures—sensitive as they are called—offer many a curious spectacle to those whom a cooler temperament has secured from participation in their angular vagaries.

Lucy does see herself as "cold and detached", as Lady Clementina has suggested. She's not named "Snowe" for nothing. She claims that she is "tame and still by habit", with no appetite for food or adventure, yet her narrative is filled with romance and passion. With mystery and stormy images.

Polly's arrival has certainly changed the atmosphere in the Bretton home, since before things would obviously have been going on in a quiet way, and now suddenly, we have this little girl so full of emotion, and one who because of her age too, demands attention.

Ginny, I'm glad you brought up the names--Lucy's surname Snowe foes reflect her generally cold, detached nature. But we seem to see that she might actually care more than she leads us to think.

Similarly perhaps, Mr 'Home' reflects his homely appearance.

Thanks for pointing out the Italian title, Lucia. Storms are indeed an element which do recur in the book, and so far we see, these have pretended a storm of sorts in Lucy's life as well.

I finally started this book and read the first five chapters.
It starts rather sudden and - as you said, Lady Clementina - we only learn about Lucy in the second chapter. I also wasn´t sure how old she was at the time of Polly´s arrival - older than the child whom she can carry but younger than a grown-up. The jump in the action is quite big to the Marchmont chapter.
I´m no fan of the impudent Polly. Wonder if all the figures till now will appear further, as the novel is obviously about Lucy.

I'd taken the bit about the ship as pure metaphor. The occurrences of bad weather/evil winds could have some supernatural interpretation (although that's typically Emily's department), but may also refer to the "miasma" theory of disease, which preceded the germ theory. I believe the mid-1800s is when this belief started to change. My assumption is that her family was carried off by disease, maybe a series of bad flus that plagued the area.

Polly concerns me a lot. She seems to be suffering from anxious attachment disorder. Poor kid must have been traumatized to act the way she does. Such a disorder will make her easy to abuse when she gets older if no one helps her.

Lucy Snowe acts like a lot of heroines in similar socioeconomic positions. She reminds me a bit of the nameless narrator in _Rebecca_.

Charlotte Brontë's writing, I'm realizing -- on this, the third book of hers I'm reading -- is a bit too flowery for my taste. She really seems to get carried away with the beautiful writing in such a way that it sort of detracts from the story. I don't have this problem with Hardy, oddly, despite his being a poet.

I expect Polly will reappear, as it's indicated she moved to the Continent to be with her father, and Lucy is likely to seek a governess position on the Continent, as recently foreshadowed.

I wonder if we will again see a comparison of the fate of two women based on their socioeconomic status, as was a central theme in _Shirley_.

True Michaela, I think Lucy seems almost deliberately reticent about letting out details about herself. Ans her age seems one of them. I wasn't even sure whether she was the same age as Graham initially.

I agree Lili, Polly's tendency to form such strong attachments is a little concerning. One wonders how it'll turn out for her later.

Sorry that the writing is not working out for you so well, but hope the story still keeps you engaged.

With Lucy I don't know if its necessarily her social position since in her case she did seem to belong to a fairly well off family, but has lost her means since.

LiLi wrote: "She reminds me a bit of the nameless narrator in _Rebecca_...."

Are you referring to this? Rebecca

Re the Bronte prose. This is my first read of Villette. I am finding the prose much more sophisticated than that in Jane Eyre, which I often found overly sentimental and sensational. In general, I think the prose styles developed by the Bronte sisters, living their cloistered lives with very limited experience in literary circles of the times, are refreshingly unique. The first chapters of this novel did remind me a bit of David Copperfield, but the writing quickly became more powerfully original. It totally works for me.

@Ginny, yes, that one!

Having just joined this group today, I’m a little behind! Fortunately, the first 5 chapters quickly caught my interest and have given me some notion of Lucy, her nature, and her future. I am curious because of the shift between the first three chapters and the last two, where Lucy sets out as a 22-23 year old into a job as companion to Mrs. Marchmont, then to London. Surely we will reconnect with the Brettons and Polly. Why else the first 3 chapters? And I am loving Bronte’s writing. Her imagery, metaphors, and use of irony are wonderful.
And so, on to chapter 6, with eagerness to learn of Lucy’s future, as she heads out into the world, now, after the “shipwreck” of her family’s fortune and the death of Miss Marchmont, totally on her own.

That's perfectly fine Diane, join in whenever you're done
with each segment🙂

Glad to hear that you're enjoying Bronte's writing. The shift is indeed interesting, but I'll leave you to see if and how the threads connect up. I think the chapters would also contrast the relatively comfortable life she led in her childhood and teens, only to be suddenly thrown into a different segment of society entirely and to have to earn her own living

Welcome, Diane :)