The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Start Publishing LLC · Print & ebook · February 20, 2013
A Classics pick for readers exploring The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
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- Who it’s for
- A Victorian novel that makes marriage, convention, and moral judgment difficult to keep tidy.
- Themes
- Feminism and sexual politics, Marital cruelty, Adultery and its consequences
- Genres
- Victorian Romance, Feminist Fiction, Gothic Romance
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenged the prevailing morals of the Victorian era. Especially shocking, at the time, was Helen's slamming of her bedroom door in the face of her husband, thereby overturning the sexual politics. It is considered to be one of the first feminist novels. The main character, Helen, is spirited and forthright, unafraid to speak to the men in her life with frankness.
Continue reading
Anne Brontë portrays this as desirable, compared to the meekness of Milicent, who is trampled and ignored by her unrepentant husband. Vice is not unique to the men, however; Lady Lowborough's adultery has a particularly devastating effect on her husband, and the malice of Eliza Millward is poisonous to the entire community.
Morals Under Pressure
A Victorian novel that makes marriage, convention, and moral judgment difficult to keep tidy.
Come here for
- A forthright heroine challenging her era’s expected meekness
- Moral tensions that resist a simple men-versus-women reading
Expect
- Victorian sexual politics woven into the moral stakes
- A layered view of virtue, harm, and social judgment
Where it sits
| Gothic Romance | 51% |
|---|---|
| Feminist Fiction | 43% |
| Victorian Romance | 33% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- The Classics
- Literary Fiction
- Victorian Romance
- Authors
- Anne Bronte
- Publisher
- Start Publishing LLC
- Published
- February 20, 2013
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Feminism and sexual politics · Marital cruelty · Adultery and its consequences
- Reading lane
- The Classics