Study Materials for Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

1. Anne Brontë uses a fairly common device in the Tenant of Wildfell Hall:  a narrative "frame" that consists of the letters that Gilbert Markham writes to his friend J. Halford. Mary Shelley does something like this in Frankenstein, and other authors of the time (including Anne Brontë's own sister Emily, in Wuthering Heights) also used similar devices. What advantages does Brontë gain by using Gilbert Markham's letters and other personal comments as a device to frame the first-person journal of Helen Huntingdon? What -- if anything -- does Gilbert Markham's narrative add to the novel itself? What does it add to the ways in which we read and respond to Helen Huntingdon's own narrative when we get to it?

2. Why is the first part of Gilbert Markham's narrative so long? This first part of the novel is over a hundred pages long; why does Brontë choose to devote so much space to Gilbert Markham's letters to his friend?

3. What exactly do we know about Gilbert Markham? Work out a sketch of him, both as a member of the social group to which he belongs and as a private individual.

4.The novel seems to be told from two different points of view, Markham's and Helen's. Who is the protagonist of this novel? Is it Markham, especially since we know he edited Helen's writing? Is it Helen, since both Markham's part of the narrative also centers on Helen? Could it be both? Explain your answer.

5. We learn that Helen uses "false initials" when she signs her paintings (43). Does she hide her identity only so she can't be found? Could she have other reasons?

6. We know that when The Tenant of Wildfell Hall appeared, in 1848, it was strongly criticized in the periodical press of the time for including scenes "of the most disgusting and revolting species." The review of the novel published in Sharp's London Magazine in 1848 declared that women readers most definitely ought not to read the novel, because "so revolting are many of the scenes, so coarse and disgusting the language put into the mouths of some of the characters, that the reviewer to whom we entrusted it [the novel] returned it to us, saying it was unfit to be noticed. . ."
     To what do you suppose reviewers and critics were objecting in the novel? Certainly much of it seems very tame indeed by today's standards, and even in 1848 the reading public was pelted regularly by sensationalist journalism of all sorts. Moreover, by then there was a nearly century-old tradition of Gothic fiction that was often more violent in nature, language, and sentiment than anything in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. So what was the problem, do you think?

7. As a "modern" reader, do you find things in the novel which you find objectionable? If so, what are they, and why do you object?

8. All semester we have been looking at how women have responded to the various situations they have found themselves in. For example, Moll turned to thievery, Maria refused eligible suitors to wait for Charles's return, etc. How does Helen respond when she realizes she made a mistake in marrying Arthur Huntingdon? Does she have many choices, and if so, what are they?

9. In the 1970s, Winifred Gérin stated that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was "written too obviously as a work of propaganda, a treatise against drunkenness, to be considered a work of art." Is this novel simply a "public service announcement" in favor of prohibition?

10. Certainly much has changed since the 1840s concerning the treatment of children and Mr. Huntingdon's behavior, when he gave his small son wine, could today be seen as a form of abuse. In order to counteract the child's growing fondness for intoxicating beverages, Mrs. Huntingdon puts "tartar-emetic" in those she gives him (354). What is tartar-emetic? Is her response justifiable, looking back from 2006, knowing what we do about the hereditary nature of alcoholism?

11. When Helen returns to Grassdale to take care of her husband, is she acting honorably? Or does she begrudge him for needing her?

12. Marriage has been a recurring theme this semester. In this novel, not only are there several weddings, but we also learn something about going to London for "the season." What does this mean?

13. Toward the end of the novel, Esther Hargrave confides in Helen about the pressures her mother puts on her to find a husband. How does Helen's response (358-360; 418-19) compare or contrast to other opinions about marriage we have seen this semester?

14. In Frankenstein, we saw what can happen when one is deprived of the basic necessity of emotional attachment and support. Has Helen Huntingdon become a "monster" of sorts as a result of her husband's mental abuse?

Useful websites for study materials and further information

Here is an excellent starting point website, The Brontë Sisters Web, maintained in Japan and featuring a great deal of information and links about the Brontës, as well as further links to bulletin boards and discussion lists.

Here is another excellent site, this one featuring the village of Haworth, with lots of really good links to all the Brontës and to a variety of information relating to them and their homes.

Here is a great site featuring the Bronte Parsonage Museum, with lots of interesting links to the Brontës and their times. There is much good information to be found here.

Here is a fun site called The Scarborough Connection; as the site description tells us, the site is both a literary and a pictorial account of the life of Anne Brontë, with a particular focus on her connections with the seaside resort of Scarborough, a place she loved and a place she portrayed in both her novels.