Piyangie's Reviews > Villette

My dear Charlotte, I kept my promise and read Villette and have now completed the Bronte canon. And I'm sorry to say that I was bitterly disappointed. You know that I enjoy your sisters' work more than yours, so you might shrug it off. But then, I have given you merit when it was due. However, Villette left me completely at a loss on what to think of you. It is your final work, and I expected a more mature outcome. But it turned out to be the most poorly written of your lot.

The novel started well. I'll give you that credit. And I enjoyed the set in England. I found it interesting and thought this work is promising. But with the shift in the setting to Villette, France, things went down for me. The unbiased, receptive tone you adopted at the beginning was replaced by a biased opinionated tone through the words, actions, and thoughts of Lucy Snow. You committed two wrongs by doing that. One is you destroyed the respect that I had for Lucy Snow, and the second is you completely destroyed my interest in Lucy's story. I didn't care how it goes or what will happen to her. You'll ask me then what kept me going? And I'll tell you honestly, it was only because I wanted to complete the Bronte canon. In Villette, I saw a repetition of The Professor. The similar troubles when working and living in a foreign land, the discrimination and the clash between Catholicism and Protestantism sounded familiar. But while Mr. Crimsworth's voice was moderate and more tolerant, Lucy's was too loud and harsh. She was intolerant and unsympathetic which was unbecoming of her. To tell you the truth Charlotte, Lucy Snow was the worst protagonist of your creation.

There is another thing that worked negatively for me. And that is how you treated Monsieur Paul, the second important character in your story. You painted him like a devil in the beginning, creating a dislike for him in the reader's mind. And then, towards the end, you sainted him. I'm glad you turned him into a likable character towards the end, but did you really have to blight his character first to make it venerable later? Further, you've done in Villette what you've not done in your other three novels. You've left a vague ending, letting the reader interpret whether Lucy had a happily ever after or not. I didn't like that vagueness either. I mean, after enduring it to the end, I felt I deserved to know a more conclusive ending.

Before I wind up, I must also make an observation of your writing here. I know your preference for flowery prose, and I have admired its beauty in other places. But not in here. In Villette, it felt heavy and verbose. And the narrative style you adopted with the liberal usage of short imperative sentences was too grating on my nerves.

Now that I've read all your work, Charlotte, my favourite out of all is Shirley. I have my own criticism on your Jane Eyre, but it's a commendable work and I will readily give its due. I'll pass The Professor. It was alright. But your Villette, as I've already said, is the poorest product of your pen.

More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/