Chapter 25-29: Absence and Misdemeanours

"...he knows he is my sun, but when he chooses to withhold his light, he would have my sky to be all darkness..."

Male Behaviour?

I don't think we can doubt Arthur's enduring love for Helen in these chapters. He may behave despicably, and treat her shamefully, but he appears to remain completely in love with her. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is more than one type of love, and Arthur argues that it is a case of gender: "The cases are different...It is a woman's nature to be constant - to love one and one only, blindly, tenderly, and for ever...but you must have some commiseration for us, Helen; you must give us a little more licence..." He would have her believe that all his behaviour - disappearing indefinitely to London, flirting with Lady Lowborough, resenting his newborn child, overindulging with his friends etc. - all of this is simply MALE behaviour.

Double Standards

But there is a clear case of double standards here. For example, when Helen asks what Arthur would do if, for instance, Lord Lowborough were to flirt with her and kiss her hand, in full view of everyone, he replies that he would "blow his brains out". He also argues, "If you had not seen me...it would have done no harm", suggesting that he can do what he likes, provided that his wife does not find out. And he even goes so far as to suggest, in his attempt to divert the focus away from his own misdemeanours, that she is breaking her own marriage vows herself by not honouring and obeying him at all times.

Victorian Society

Now it is easy for us to condemn his behaviour, reading about it in 2006. But could it, perhaps, have been more 'acceptable' 150 years ago. Remember how different was women's role in society back then; think how fewer rights women had, and how many more restrictions were placed on their lives. Victorian men frequented alehouses and brothels at will, but their wives were expected to remain beacons of piousness and domesticity regardless. That was just the way things were.

* * * *

Or perhaps you think that it doesn't matter when the book is set: Arthur's behaviour is still completely wrong and totally unacceptable. If so, what do you think is the most unforgiveable of the things he does? What upsets you most about the way he treats his wife and child? I would be very interested to hear your opinions on this.

And what about the other plot developments? What exactly do you think Arthur is getting up to during his long sojourns in London? What is Mr Hargrave playing it, and are his intentions completely honourable? Do you think Arthur and Helen's marriage is beyond hope and help, or could they still turn things around?

NEXT WEEK: Only three chapters to read this week - Chapters 30, 31 and 32. But PLEASE can you all try to contribute more to this BLOG (either through COMMENTS about my entries, or, better still, through your OWN POSTS). I feel like I am doing all the work here... :(

Chapters 20-24: So was her Aunt right after all?

The Newlyweds

This week, I would like you to think carefully about the relationship between Helen and Arthur. Is it starting to fall apart, or perhaps these are just problems that all couples face at one time or another? And whose fault do you think it all is? Is Helen being too PIOUS and intolerant of her new husband? Is she trying to push and force him into being somebody he is NOT? Or is Arthur ignoring his new wife's feelings? Is he deliberately winding her up, and gaining pleasure from teasing and joking with her? What, precisely, do YOU think is starting to happen to their still young marriage?

Who's afraid of the big, bad Arthur?

Also, I would be interested to hear your thoughts about Arthur's behaviour with his friends - and, in particular, with Lord Lowborough. What do you think about the way that Arthur treated Lowborough over the years? Should Arthur be showing more REMORSE about it all? Do you think Arthur is as IMMUNE to and safe from the worst consequences of this 'wild life' as he claims to be? Basically, are any of you starting to think that Helen's aunt might have been right when she warned Helen against men like this? Or is Arthur just a passionate, red-blooded male with an equal share, like all of us, of good and bad points?

Helen - and, indeed, her aunt - are quick to judge the likes of Arthur; but then they exist in a fervently religious world where their faith has more power over them than anything else. Does the 21st Century reader respond with similar condemnation to this most complicated of 'heroes'?
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N.B. PLEASE can I start to see some of you post a proper, extended BLOG entry on this site? I've given you guidance and exemplars etc., and I really need to see that you are all TRYING to engage with the discussion as fully as you can. Also, it would be GREAT if you all tried to keep the Book Group part of the WIKI up to date too... :)

It's YOUR turn now: Chapters 11-19

I am not going to create long, detailed posts this weekend, as I think that it is high time that some of YOU did so instead. I have 'modelled' posts over the past couple of weeks, and I have given you lots of guidance as to how LONG they should be; HOW they should be written; and WHAT they should be about.

I would like to see what some of you can come up with this week. However, to help you, here is a selection of topics you might like to post about. So choose one of these topics (or one of your own, based on ideas in your reading journal) and remember that you need to write a minimum of approx 250 words. Then sit back and enjoy the discussion you have sparked between other members of the group in the COMMENTS. Be brave - don't leave the BLOG to other people:

• Shocking and Taboo?:
• What evidence can you find of why this book was so shocking to its contemporary audience?
• What happens during these chapters that Victorian society might have so objected to?
• What social rules do characters like Helen and Gilbert break, and how might we respond differently from the Victorian reader?
• Gilbert in Love
• How does Gilbert change and develop during these chapters?
• Why does he behave this way towards the woman he says he loves/loved?
  
• How do we respond to/feel about his behaviour towards Helen?
  
• Helen's Diary Entry:
• What is the narrative function of Helen's diary entry?
  
• Or, in other words, what effect does the use of this device have on the reader?
  
• Why does Bronte use it?
  
• What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of writing a novel in the form of LETTERS and DIARIES?
• Helen's Big Mistake:
• What do you think of Helen's refusal to follow her Aunt's choice of husband for her?
• What is your opinion of the men she turns down?
• What do you think should influence a woman's choice of husband (or, indeed, a man's choice of wife)?
• Is Helen wrong to fight against her aunt's attempts at an 'arranged marriage'?
• Mr Huntingdon
• Can you sense any foolishness or error in her attraction towards Mr Huntingdon?
  
• Is there any evidence, at this stage, of him being the sort of man Helen's aunt warned her against?
• What do you think of Mr Huntingdon? Consider:
• His behaviour with other women;
• His response to the secret drawings;
• His physical advances towards Helen;
• Anything else you notice about him...

NEXT WEEK: Please read Chapters 20-24

Society and Setting

(This is a photo of the entrance to Ponden Hall, near the Bronte's home town of Haworth, which is thought to have provided the inspiration for both Wildfell Hall, and Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights. It is one of the places we will seek out on the Bronte residential trip next summer.)

The setting (physical and social) of the story is also developed a lot in Chapters 5-10.

Wildfell Hall

The hall itself continues to exert a serious and mysterious presence over the characters - "Silent and grim it frowned before us" - but it clearly suits serious and mysterious Mrs Graham perfectly, as we can see, for example, from her following words:

• "I cannot be too thankful for such an asylum"
• "I am not sure the loneliness of the place was not one of its chief recommendations"
• "I take no pleasure in watching people pass the windows; and I like to be quiet"
  

Pathetic Fallacy

Coined by the writer and artist, John Ruskin, in the 19th Century, PATHETIC FALLACY is the term to describe when the physical environment or setting reflects in some way the lives or circumstances of the people or characters themselves (or, indeed, the plot or narrative). There is an example here: "the young primroses were peeping from among their moist, dark foliage, and the lark above was singing of summer, and hope, and love, and every heavenly thing". The changing seasons are almost sending out a message of hope and happiness, and the reader is curious as to whether the plot will, indeed, follow a similarly positive path.


Husbands and Wives

One thing I found interesting in these chapters is the discussion of what makes a good husband, and I would be interested to hear what you all think of these views. Gilbert, very much the 'modern man', is clear about his views: "I shall expect to find more pleasure in making my wife happy and comfortable, than in being made so by her: I would rather give than receive". But his mother's description of her, late husband shows a very different point of view: "he was steady and punctual, seldom found fault without a reason, always did justice to my good dinners, and hardly ever spoiled my cookery by delay – and that’s as much as any woman can expect of any man". What do you think about such opinions? Have roles changed between then and now? What do you regard to be a 'good husband'?

Smalltalk

Personally, I have never quite 'got' smalltalk, and I have always felt uncomfortable and awkward in situations when I have been expected to chat with other people just for the sake of it. It seems false to me - although I know that it is a common social routine. Mrs Graham, who hates "talking where there is no exchange of ideas or sentiments, and no good given or received", seems to hold a similar opinion, as can be seen from the following extract:

"'It is I who have left them,' was the smiling rejoinder. 'I was wearied to death with small talk - nothing wears me out like that. I cannot imagine how they can go on as they do.'
I could not help smiling at the serious depth of her wonderment.
'Is it that they think it a duty to be continually talking,' pursued she: 'and so never pause to think, but fill up with aimless trifles and vain repetitions when subjects of real interest fail to present themselves, or do they really take a pleasure in such discourse?'
'Very likely they do,' said I; 'their shallow minds can hold no great ideas, and their light heads are carried away by trivialities that would not move a better-furnished skull; and their only alternative to such discourse is to plunge over head and ears into the slough of scandal - which is their chief delight.'"

And finally...

I found this bit really funny, and quite unlike the sort of writing you find in most, stereotypical Victorian fiction: "I deposited the book in one of its pockets, and then put it on (i.e. the coat)". :)

I rather liked to see Mrs Graham...

Fair Hermit

In these chapters, we see Gilbert's growing affection for Mrs Graham, whom he calls variously his "fair hermit" and his "wonderful stranger". Both these descriptions (almost oxymorons) capture her double-edged nature, and the fact that she is alluring and repellant, warm and cold - all at the same time. Indeed, Gilbert recognises "so changeable was she", and is constantly frustrated by the way her emotional thermometer changes so much. Nonetheless, he still prefers "mature" and "earnest" Mrs Graham to "frivolous" and "insipid" Eliza Millward: "I was too happy in the company of Mrs Graham, to regret the absence of Eliza Millward... after all, it would, perhaps, be better to spend one’s days with such a woman than with Eliza Millward".

Enchanted

He is now growing almost to hero-worship Mrs Graham - "she, in intellect, in purity and elevation of soul, was immeasurably superior to any of her detractors" - and, after most visits, "went home enchanted". He is certainly under her spell! And it is not just her personality which appeals to him so much; her physical appearance has an equally powerful effect on her. This is shown, for example, when he admits he "could not help stealing a glance… [at] the elegant white hand that held the pencil, and the graceful neck and glossy raven curls that drooped over the paper", and confesses "it was a pleasure to behold it so dextrously guided by those fair and graceful fingers". I think those of you eagerly wanting the two of them to have an affair certainly have Gilbert himself on your side!

Challenge

But we also see, in these chapters, Mrs Graham become increasingly mysterious: "I am not disposed to answer any more questions at present". The village reaches their own conclusions, but Gilbert decides it all has something to do with her previous husband - "she had had enough of him and the matrimonial state altogether" - and he assumes that this has made her determined to fall in love with nobody ever again, "relentlessly nipping off bud by bud as they ventured to appear". Perhaps this is why he becomes even stronger in her attempts to win her heart? Because he realises what a challenge it is going to be. He even uses military imagery to describe "another invasion of Wildfell Hall", and, at one point, even declares, "I thought my hour of victory was come".

If we thought their relationship was complicated at first, what is it like now?!

Week Two: Reading task

Please make sure you have read up to the end of Chapter 10 by next Sunday. The following week, I may double this to 10 chapters in a week, but I want to give EVERYONE a chance to catch up first.

Can I also suggest that it can be a good idea to get yourself a little notebook, and just jot down your thoughts and ideas at the end of each chapter, whilst they're still fresh in your mind. A reading journal, really. Give it a try if you can...

Social Pressure

From the beginning of the novel, one of the most powerful forces is that of SOCIETY. Gossip is everywhere, and the main inhabitants of this community don't seem happy unless they are gossiping about someone else. It's a gossip's dream come true when a mysterious woman arrives to live nearby, and so, predictably, they gossip about her too. Very few characters are immune to this, and most of them quickly join in when there is a chance to exchange some snippets of gossip with the others.

More sinister than this, however, is the pressure society seems to exert on those who would be different. Mrs Graham chooses to live 'differently' and she is criticised endlessly for doing so. She is criticised (either to her face or behind her back) for her attitudes on childrearing; her standards of cleanliness and housekeeping; her opinions on alcohol and intemperance. It seems that this is a remarkably petty and insecure society that gets so much satisfaction from having a go at people who do not fit in with the 'proper' way of doing things. But, cleverly, this seems to be another technique by Anne Bronte to lure us into choosing our 'ally' in the novel: we are drawn to be on the side of the pariah (or social outcast), rather than the crowd.

Sexual Tension

Sexual Tension

To fully understand how DARING this novel is from the outset, you need to remember two things:

• It was written in 1848, 11 years into the reign of Queen Victoria. The Victorian era is famous for its prudishness , and society regarded anything sexual as completely TABOO. This would have included any outward displays of sexual attraction.
• It was written by a WOMAN, who was completely aware of the anger she would incur from society for daring to do what should only be done by a man (i.e. write novels) - so much so that, like her sisters, she wrote under a pseudonym, Acton Bell.

So imagine how brave she was to write about a community rife with sexual tension. Gilbert quite clearly finds Eliza incredibly attractive, and can't get enough of her company. He even steals a kiss from her, very publically, to the anger and shock of his mother. On a day to day basis, he is forced to observe the social convention of 'polite conversation' with the girl he fancies beyond belief - to add to which his mother doesn't approve of her anyway! But he can't help but kiss her that evening, even though he knows he 'shouldn't'.

And then there is his fascination with the widow, Mrs Graham. From the very first moment he hears about her, he is captivated. He goes, effectively, to spy on her in her new home as he rides on the moor. He stares at her quite blatantly, trying to flirt with her in church - in church, of all places! It seems to me that, on the one hand, Gilbert is trying his hardest to 'behave himself' with two, separate, young women; but, on the other hand, he can only just about control himself with either of them.

Suspense

I have read this novel several times, but I never fail to be drawn into the suspense and mystery of the story. Gilbert Markham and the others are pretty straightforward, at least at first, but Mrs Graham is an enigma from the outset. One thing I like is how we hear about her from other people before we actually see her 'in the flesh' - and hearing about anyone 'second hand' like this is bound to make them even more intriguing. [When I say 'we' here, I basically mean Gilbert, because it is he who guides us throughout this part of the novel, and so we witness things through him.]

Even when Gilbert finally meets her for the first time, no words are actually exchanged - purely awkward glances across the church. And even when characters actually speak to her, she doesn't reveal very much about herself at all. Her stroppiness when Gilbert rescues her son from the tree seems strange - and we don't quite know why. Her strong views on alcohol seem out of place - and we don't quite know why. Her sensitivity about the hidden portrait (and indeed the strange habit of ensuring none of her paintings are traceable to where she is now) seems to come from nowhere - and, still, we don't know quite why. Anne Bronte is cleverly dropping little clues into our imagination, but keeps enough back to keep us guessing and keen to read on and find out more.

Chapter 1-5 - You MUST read this!

BEFORE I start, two simple rules for this BLOG:

1. Posts must be AT LEAST 250 words long. Anything shorter is probably best put on the Message Board.
2. You can post about ANYTHING to do with the weekly chapters - as long as it interests you (and therefore might also spark some discussion).

If you are stuck what to write, have a look at each of the THREE sections I have written below, and think of these as EXEMPLARS for the sort of thing you might want to write, either this week or in the future. And remember, students with the most posts over the year will qualify for the trip at the end of the year.

So... You've all read the first FIVE chapters I hope. I know some of you have read much more than this, but it is important that we all move at the same speed as far as this BLOG is concerned - otherwise it will get really confusing, for everyone.

Firstly, I know lots of you have found it a struggle at first to 'adjust' to what is a very different style of writing to what you are used to reading. But I agree with those of you who say it is just a question of persevering, and then you soon get used to it. I find it the same with B&W films: when I first start watching one I am really disappointed at the lack of colour, but, if I persevere, before too long I have adjusted completely, and totally forgotten that it is Black and White at all. The same is true of fiction like this. DON'T be put off if you don't understand the odd word either - as long as the sentence still makes sense, then just ignore it (or look it up if you're really curious).

Anyway, back to the book - and, specifically, the first FIVE chapters. There are three things I would like to talk about in particular, and, to help you all out, I shall post separately for each one...