I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time, so when I saw that Wallace at Unputdownables was hosting a Readalong, I jumped at the chance. Now, I do own this book. I’ve unpacked about half my boxes and still haven’t seen it, but luckily, it is available on the Kindle (I just use the PC version) for free. That’s both good and bad. Good in that it’s easier to read than I thought it would be. I blew through the first five chapters in no time this past Sunday. So I didn’t find it hard to read on my computer. Secondly, I love the highlight feature so I can go back and find where I made notes, etc. However, the bad comes in when you read ahead and then you have to go back and scroll through to find out what happened during those specific chapters. Having a regular book would make that so much easier. I can already tell that I’ll be writing down my thoughts in a blog post draft while I’m reading from now on so I won’t have to scroll back so much. So far I’ve read through Chapter 8.
Now on to the book. The first thing I noticed about the first couple of chapters is that it is in direct contrast to Jane Eyre. In Villette, the adults and older children are observing the child, Polly (who is a little creepy I thought); whereas in Jane Eyre it is from Jane’s point of view and she is observing the adults and other children around her. I also noted the bit of gothic elements in that the child comes to Bretton during a very wet night. She ends up being a curious child indeed. I didn’t think it odd that she took up with Graham, though, as I’ve seen my sons’ little girl cousins do the same. I was prepared for this storyline to go on for quite some time so I was surprised when the father showed up again so quickly.
When Lucy goes to live with Miss Marchmont, I was half expecting Miss Marchmont to be a little bit mean, so I was relieved when she wasn’t. Her story was a sad one. I’ve often heard that people near death have one last feeling of clarity or just feel a lot better right before they die, so I was kind of expecting that. I supposed she was going to put Lucy in her will and died before she could do so.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my reading so far as I love the classics anyway. There is a hazard in reading them, though. The quality of the writing is sooooo high that it really spoils me and makes me a bit critical when I read contemporary fiction. It makes me want to read even more classics this year, though!
I really enjoy the Gothic elements in this book, and I can tell right off that Lucy’s plight is far from over…she seems to get the short end of the stick most times. Polly was very odd indeed, but she is only six and has been left by her father in a strange home.
I enjoyed that Marchmont got to tell her story, even if it was brief. And, like you, I’ve decided I need to stop and write my impressions on a section before reading on, otherwise it is a lot of work (and I even have the pages to flip through…it’s just my brain that’s scattered.)
Glad you are making headway with this book. I probably will read it at some point, but that’s what I always seem to be saying about most books.
I totally agree with you about how well written Villette is, it puts to shame many current books. Polly is rather odd and I was relieved when that party of the story ended quickly. I thought Miss Marchmont would be ill-tempered, too, but I cannot imagine living in just two rooms for any extended period of time. I was happy for Lucy when she got out of there and moved on!
I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the next several chapters!
Here are mine:
Thoughts on Villette
Interesting that many readers were kind of eager to bid Polly good-bye but also surprised that Lucy’s time with Miss Marchmont came and went so quickly. She clearly serves as a pivot point in the narrative. Perhaps it was a longer section initially and Bronte was urged to or chose to cut it back to its essentials to avoid having an even longer book …
Such a great insight that this is the reverse of Jane Eyre in that here the adults are viewing the child. (I agree, precocious Polly is a bit creepy!)
It’s so funny that you begin by all the pros and cons of having this on your Kindle. I downloaded it on my Nook, finding the price of 2.99 irresistable, and found the same things you mentioned: the first five chapters flew, love the highlight feature, but it’s hard to go back to something you want to reference. That’s one of the few downfalls of an e-reader, not being able to flip the pages back and forth to double check something.
Glad to be reading this with you, and finding you again after a rather long time!