Book Review | Villette
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- In which Amanda makes it clear Villette and Jane Eyre are not the same book!
Introduction video: • Reading an Introductio...
Kate’s video where she talks about Villette: • On DNF'ing
Villette: www.goodreads....
goodreads.com/AmandaCenterIntrovertX
patreon.com/AmandaCenterIntrovertX
/ amandacenterintrovertx
The names of Charlotte Bronte's heroines are significant. Jane Eyre: 'Jane' stands for Everywoman; plain Jane. 'Eyre', because she is like a spirit of air, insubstantial, other-worldly, offering little resistance but impossible to constrain, seemingly able to communicate with Mr Rochester through the aether; while Bertha Rochester is a spirit of fire. Lucy Snowe, however: St Lucy was an early Christian martyr whose life is very obscure; and the significance of 'Snowe' is obvious.
You have basically articulated all my opinions about this book in a perfect way. I completely agree with you, Lucy is not here to charm us or to gain any affection. She even lies to the reader, she hides information and tricks us in several moments. She doesn't have to tell us she is feeling absolutely miserable and lonely for us to see that. I was very immersed in the part where she is alone at that school, feeling devastated but carrying on and surviving.
Not to mention the ending, which I found was mind blowing..
Villette definetely deserves more chances!
Thanks for this review, it's just great..
Greetings from Barcelona (:
I'm so glad you enjoyed my review and, more importantly, the book :D
I recently read this & found it utterly beguiling & compelling.. actually i fell in love with it. Yours is the only review ive come across that cuts to the heart of it. You nailed it & im so glad you re-reviewed it & read that introduction & yes.. there are "depths of truth to be found in Villette that really can't be found in the romance & fantasy of Jane Eyre", & that combined with the language is why i know ill be re reading this at various points in my life. I thought it exquisitely tender & masterful : ))
Hi! I´m halfway Villette and found your review. Sometimes I can´t hold myself from watching reviews in bat times. Well, I can tell you I identify myself with Lucy like never felt with Jane (but I loved Jane and had so much fun with her!), just, the way Charlotte express Lucy´s thoughts and feelings is overwhelming. Google translate is saving my ass with french. I loved the way you speak and you video. A Hello from Colombia! :D
I hope you continue to enjoy Villette :)
Best way to read Villette is to think of it as deeply personal and confessional, disguised autobiography. Charlotte uses the novelistic form in order to share her deepest most personal feelings about life, love and death. Reading some background material, about Charlotte's time spent teaching in Brussells and her unrequited love for Monsieur Constantin Heger, will also make reading this novel a lot easier and more fun.
Thanks for the tip!! :D
8:48 I think that if there's one recurring aspect that unites all of the novels of the Brontes, it's a desire, conscious or not, for human affection and for someone to be concerned with you with human feelings especially in times of suffering.
My heart was completely broke when a find this read. I really think that Lucy Snowe deserves her happy ending.
Thank you for this!! I liked Villette much better than Jane Eyre but many just don't get that.
You're quite welcome :D
I first read Villette 2 years ago and was absolutely stunned by how wonderful it was. I am rereading it now and it is just as wonderful as when I first read it. I love how you compare and contrast Lucy Snowe with Jane Eyre. I was trying to explain to one of my friends how it's like Jane Eyre but also so different, and you just did an excellent job with it. I can see myself in Lucy Snowe so much more than I can with Jane (although I do love that novel as well). Definitely one of my top favorite books.
I simply love your review (I'm glad I found it. I was looking for an article about Villette but there's nothing in my language yet... Unfortunately). I just have finished the book and I feel that the ending breaks the expectation of a romantic love we tend to expect (I agree with you). The magic in it is that life is more than just a romance between a man and a woman perfectly suited as Paulina and Dr. Bretton. We can see this contrast and get more critic about it. Maybe what you really need is different than you think. 😀 Let's all see through Lucy's eyes and get the message. 🌿
A nice review, thanks Amanda. I had a similar experience to you - I read the book, then read a review and now am re-reading it with a greater appreciation. I think this book is wonderful, but I had to read a lot of it before I really started to warm up to it. Lucy Snowe is quite a fascinating character, and her relationship with the reader is quite unusual, but the appeal for me is really Charlotte Bronte's amazing writing and the power of her language.
Indeed! I plan to reread it later this year and hope I absolutely love it :)
This was indeed long awaited, and you're a saint for recording the intro. Villette is a favorite; I am reading Jane Eyre right now, for the first time. Jane is such an easy read, I find it unputdownable in a way Villette can't be... I found a lot of myself in Lucy Snow. Thank you for this thoughtful review.
How did you come to read Villette before Jane Eyre? I'm quite curious :)
Well... I've *owned* a copy of Jane Eyre for about 15 years. And I know the story, of course. I thought I'd read it. I picked it up as a "reread" a week ago and slowly realized, nope never read the thing! What a surprise! I've read Shirley too so I'll just have The Professor left. Then I'll be done the Brontes :( Well except juvenile, poetry, biographies, etc!
Ah, I understand! You've read Anne Brontes' two novels then. What did you think of them? I've not read anything by her yet :)
Amanda Center oh, Tenant is far better. Agnes is just ok. Tenant is revolutionary in its depiction of abuse and domestic violence. i understand that Charlotte did not approve.
From what I know of Charlotte, she didn't approve of much at all! I'll definitely bump Tenant up the list of classics. Thanks for your recommendation and do enjoy Jane Eyre :D
For the first half I made ~ 3% progress every day, the other half I read in 24 h.
Just bougt Jane Eyre and I am exited to start reading it!
Lucy Snowe is highly intellectual and represents Charlotte Brontë's life almost completely; she wrote this book because her first book was refused to be published during her lifetime as "The Professor" is the story of "Vilette" only even more real to Charlotte Brontë's life, but written from the man's perspective.
Charlotte Brontë is my 7th favorite author and my favorite female author. The only woman to write a book in my top ten books of all time.
7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë
68) "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
139) "The Professor” by Charlotte Brontë
163) "Shirley" by Charlotte Brontë
20) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë
97) "Agnes Grey" by Anne Brontë
173) "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
The 1943 "Jane Eyre" is the best movie version of this story.
FAVORITE AUTHORS must have two books in the top 100 books of all time.
1) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection)
2) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons)
3) James A. Michener (Chesapeake)
4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich)
5) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot)
6) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew)
7) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette)
8) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)
9) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire)
10) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
11) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
12 Anne Brontë (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
13) George Eliot (Silas Marner)
14) Anthony Trollope (He Knew He Was Right)
15) Dr. Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner (Verbal Behavior)
16) Charles Dickens (Hard Times)
17) Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure)
I have just finished reading It and I came rushing for a review. This one is great, thank you!
Happy to help :)
I really sympathized with Lucy..I admired her tenacity, her independence. I felt sorry for her as she is on the “Outside looking in” so to speak as that’s all she allows. She is also depressed etc. so I really like her and did not find her unlikable as so many have said. My Oxford copy has the French translations in the back so though it slowed me down, I found it very helpful. I don’t think I would enjoy without. Now I’m only 1/2 way through right now so I’m not sure if these opinions will change. But I’m enjoying.
Oh my. I love this book.
You sold me at "an impossible female character" and me not being a fan of Jane Eyre this sounds perfect!
This might be the Charlotte Bronte for you :D
What a beautiful review! I love how clearly you delineate the two reading experiences you had with Charlotte Bronte's work, and make so passionately argue for Lucy Snow. It made me very interested in the book :)
HUZZAH!! Interest is all I ask for :D
Thank you for the review, I did not know if I would get a grip on this book, however I am going to buy it and give it a go. So thank you for the help!
This is such a brilliant, brilliant video.
I'm so glad you enjoyed :D
This was a super review. Any video that opens with a Haiku poem is truly amazing :)
Thank you :) All my reviews have book haikus!
Thank you so much for this review, I just couldn't understand why this was the only Bronte book I didn't "get" or enjoy, after putting it down twice. I finally finished it. But now, thanks to your video. I understand more now and will most likely have a re-read. Thanks!
Glad to be of service :D
I find it odd that a reader would go into Villette expecting Lucy to be Jane because if a writer wrote the same character in different novels that would get boring. I really want to read Villette based on your thoughts and Katie's but my hesitation is sometimes with unreliable narrators I end up not getting on with the story but hopefully this will be the exception. Your copy is lovely and I hope that that intro is also in my copy because wow that was gorgeous. The "under-rated Victorian novel that i always promote is Tenant of Wildfell Hall but happily it is not that under-rated amongst booktubers who love classics 😃 Excellent review as always 😀
I think a lot of people want "the same, but different" from their favorite authors. And since Jane Eyre is so beloved, I think many people can't separate Jane from Charlotte Bronte. In any case I hope you enjoy Villette when you give it a try! The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of those classics I don't want to forget about, but keep forgetting about. One day! :D
Amanda Center thanks, hoping to get to it early next year. you know what would be fun? if we did sort of a "buddy recommends" buddy read where I read Villette while you read Tenant 😀 Also there is a great audio of Tenant narrated by Jenny Agutter and Alex Jennings 😃 Who narrated the version of Villette you listened to?
That buddy read swap might be a perfect idea :D I listened to Davina Porter, who was good, though I didn't choose that audiobook specifically - it was $0.49 with the free kindle ebook purchase :)
Amanda Center cool, I'll see if anything is in overdrive
I saw this review just as I finished the audio book.
I agree with everything you said, the ending of this book though!
I had to rewind and listen to it a second time as I couldn’t believe how casually it was passed over.
Once the truth had sunk in, my cry of “oh no”! brought my son running (he thought I’d dropped dinner) and trying not to sob I very badly explained my distress at the stories outcome.
Seriously messed up now😳
This sounds quite a challenge, I just finished the tenant of wildfell hall and even though this has a happy ending it has a major part of realness to it as well - which I really liked, so maybe Vilette is the next step up in terms of reality for women at the time. Thank you for your honest review!
I'm hoping to get to Tenant SOMETIME, but I keep forgetting about it. I hope you enjoy Villette when you try it :)
I'm so glad I found your review of this this. I am asking for a boxed set of all the Brontë novels for Christmas and Villette was of particular interest to me. I'd love to be a Jane, but I think I may end a Lucy. Thanks!
I'm glad you enjoyed the review! Which boxed set are you hoping to receive?
Amanda Center I know you're not a fan of hardbacks, but there is a box up of the Penguin clothbound editions which I love. I am a sucker for a ribbon book mark. :)
I will have to read it.
wonderful review...for sure i will be re reading this very soon.
HUZZAH!!! :D
My mother is my Jane ❤
Thanks for the great review! I've been thinking about reading Vilette at some point, but I'm not sure if I'll het through it... It does sounds very very interesting though! I'll just have to try, I guess!
Reading it while listening to the audiobook sounds great!
You can do anything you set your mind to :D And then we can chat about it once you're done! Also, I'm planning on rereading Villette next year, so maybe we can buddy read :)
That sounds like a great plan! I think that would work really well with a book like Vilette! :) Let me know when you want to reread in next year, I will get the book then! :)
I really cannot believe you are holding the book for this entire time.
Loved this review, really struggling to understand Villette! x
I hope the review helped you understand a bit better :)
Jane Eyre has been a while ago, which might be good. And it is not the only thing I have read from Charlotte Bronte so far. Really excited for Villette, which I have planned next year. :)
The Professor had quite a bit of french as well, so I hope Villette does not go beyond that as I was able to understand those passages without having to look them up.
What edition do you have here? Could you tell me the ISBN-number?
I am still thinking about which edition to buy. lD
EDIT: Found it! 978-0062356161
It's a lovely edition! I hope you enjoy Villette :)
Amanda, have you read either of Anne Bronte's novels?
I just read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and talked about it in my October/Victober wrap up :)
Hi. Why is it that I can not see the introduction video?
Here's the link to the unlisted video: ruclips.net/video/IvOW1A34ceM/видео.html
@@AmandaQuotidianBooks For some reason youtube says it is private and doesn't allow me to watch it. Thanks anyway.
Sorry about that! I just made it unlisted, so you should be able to watch with that link now :D
I haven't read it but I have bought it
I hope you enjoy it when you get to it :)
Ok
The whole French language side of things puts me off this book.....
Understandable :)
My edition has all the translations in the back of the book by page number, and it made it really easy to read and understand what was happening! I loved Villette, so please, don't let the French dissuade you from reading it.
J Foster oh, now there's a thought, get a copy with the French translated.... good idea!!