Chapters 51-53: Happily Ever After

Gilbert's Panic

I don't know about you, but however many times I read this book I still start panicking when it looks like Gilbert is going to have to burst into the church and stop Helen marrying Hargrave. My heat beats fast as I read about his lightning journey to Grassdale in order to rescue Helen (or himself) from a life apart from each other. And the moment when he watches the bride and groom come from the church, and finally realises that the bride is NOT Helen, and then that the groom is NOT Hargrave - the relief is palpable, and the reader's excitement almost as great as Arthur's himself. It is not an original or unique scenario (indeed, we see similar set-ups on TV all the time - be it in drama or soap opera) - but Bronte relates it perfectly.

Will They? Won't They?

Just as exciting is the final reconciliation of Gilbert and Helen. The "will they/won't they" tension has been going on for SO long that it is almost unbearable when Gilbert's pride takes over at Staningley and he almost ruins everything. When he rejects the rose, and even starts to leave altogether, I almost want to shout at the book, "Don't be so STUPID, Gilbert! She LOVES you! Can't you see?!!!" However, like all the best romances, he finally realises that she loves him too, and at that moment, as he is "printing a kiss upon her lips, and another, and another", his 'daring and impetuousness' infect the reader as well.

Happily Ever After

For a book so FULL of heartache, misery and misfortune, the ending could not be HAPPIER. Bronte even goes so far as to demonstrate that the new, younger generation is proving happier and more successful as the older one - as young Arthur marries Hattersley's daughter, having realised his "mother's brightest expectations". So, all the bad characters have died, and all the good characters have won - and harmony, love and happiness have returned to Planet Bronte. However, these seem wholly deserved and, therefore, realistic too - because few could have suffered as much as poor Helen...

* * * *

I hope you have enjoyed reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Please feel free also to read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights - both of which are totally different but equally compelling - and do not hesitate to post your own responses on this blog. I would love to read some extended responses to the Tenant of Wildfell Hall on here too, if you get a chance.

Next term, we will have a change, and move on to Regeneration by Pat Barker. So see if you can track it down as soon as possible - either in the library or in your local bookshop. I will set the first reading task on 7th January 2007.

Chapters 47-50: The Death of Arthur Huntingdon

Gilbert's Point of View

What seems most interesting to me about these chapters is how powerfully we, the reader, are manipulated by the narrative of Gilbert Markham. It is easy to forget that this is NOT a third-person, anonymous narrator, because each narrator in this novel tends to have long stints ‘in charge of’ the story; but the fact remains that we are being told the story by a first-person narrator, and are therefore subjected to all his bias and personal experience. In other words, as I read this, I felt extremely disappointed when I found it Helen had gone back to Arthur; I, too, wished Arthur would die so that she could be freed from his tyranny; and I would have done anything to assist Gilbert and rescuing her.

Helen's Point of View

But then, reading Helen's letters, we see a totally different side to this story. She went there of her own will. She looked after him out of choice. She stayed by his death bed by her own volition. Nobody forced her to do any of this. In fact, reading her letters, I realised that her decision ACTUALLY empowered her; she was far stronger a person in CHOOSING to stay than in being FORCED to flee. And she took no chances either, forcing Arthur to sign a contract to protect her and her son. So what I am saying is that no situation is simple: I ended up sympathising with Gilbert AND Helen - at the same time.

Will they or won't they?

Now he is dead, however, I do hope that Gilbert finds a way to win her love for good, and her hand in marriage too. Perhaps I am too caught up in his own desires, through the power of his narrative, but I REALLY want him and Helen to get together. When we hear descriptions of marriage like the one Gilbert's mother gave near the start (do you remember? the one about the husband not complaining about his wife TOO much?); or like the description of Lowborough's second wife as sensible, pious (i.e. religious), kind and happy (like those are somehow the only important things in a wife/husband); I wish even more strongly for a couple like Gilbert and Helen to make it work. Because, whilst Helen might be all those things herself, their relationship also has its right share of passion, attraction and genuine, consuming love as well. And also, in these chapters, we have seen all the pure villains getting exactly what they deserve: Grimsby, Arthur, Annabella - all dying before their time. So why shouldn't the good characters get what they deserve too? i.e. something GOOD!

But will they manage to get married, against all the odds? Or will society, and all its expectations, get in their way? Only three chapters left in which to find out...

An EXTRA week

I am worried that lots of you have fallen behind and are struggling to keep up with my pace. For this reason, I will give you all an EXTRA WEEK to try to catch up, and so I will not post on the most recent chapters until NEXT weekend. I hope that suits you all. I am determined we don't lose the momentum, and so if there are any of you who are up to the same point as me, feel free EITHER to email me your thoughts about what you have read AND/OR read ahead anyway. We are SO close to the finish...

Also, only 3 of you have voiced any interest in the Bronte residential trip in the summer. It would obviously be impossible to run a trip with only THREE people, so can I ask the rest of you to give this some serious thought. There is no reason we HAVE to run that trip (just as there is no reason we HAVE to keep focusing on the Brontes this year - in fact, I have some other suggestions if you would prefer) - but I need to know what is down to a lack of interest, and what is down to a lack of TIME.

Basically, I would like to hear from ALL of you over the next week or so, BY EMAIL, in response to the following questions:

1. How have you found it trying to keep up with the speed at which I have expected you to read this novel?
2. How have you enjoyed the novel itself so far? Please give me detailed reasons why or why not.
3. Are you interested enough in the Bronte residential for me to start organising it?
4. Which of the following options would you prefer for the Book Group for the next two terms:
a) Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) and Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)? OR
b) Regeneration (Pat Barker) and Dracula (Bram Stoker)?
They are all FANTASTIC books (brilliantly written and VERY important for your growing appreciation of the best literature out there), but I need to know what is going to provide the most enjoyment to you all. I am happy to continue with the Brontes, but I am equally excited at the prospect of introducing you all to and exploring the other two.

I hope to hear from you all BY EMAIL (or as a signed comment on the BLOG) over the next few days.

Mr Savage