L'unica sorella Bronte di cui ancora non avevo letto niente e devo dire che mi dispiace non averlo fatto prima!
Se Cime Tempestose e Jane Eyre sono drammatici e intensi, questo La signora di Widlfell è probabilmente meno sconvolgente ma di una qualità altissima!
La signora di Wildfell Hall è Helen Graham, signora sola con un bambino che scatena le curiosità del piccolo paesino, un luogo in cui l'arrivo di una persona nuova e misteriosa è visto come una manna dal cielo per chiacchiere e pettegolezzi.
Il romanzo è diviso in tre parti: la prima parte in cui scopriamo gli abitanti del paesino e iniziamo a conoscere meglio alcuni dettagli della protagonista, raccontato dal punto di vista di Gilbert Markahm, innamorato di lei ma geloso e suscettibile; la seconda parte in cui c'è il diario di Helen e quindi ci viene raccontata con ogni particolare la sua vicenda e cosa l'abbia portata a Wildfell Hall; il finale, epilogo della storia.
La cosa che maggiormente sorprende per un romanzo scritto nell'800 è l'estrema modernità della protagonista e della sua scelta. Si potrebbe dire benissimo che Helen sia una delle prime eroine femministe, una donna che sceglie di allontanarsi da un rapporto sbagliato, decidendo della sua vita, non lasciando che nessuno le dica come deve comportarsi essendo una donna... ovviamente con tutti i limiti del caso, stiamo comunque sempre parlando dell'Ottocento, non è paragonabile alla situazione del 2020. Ma Helen è una che non ha paura di mettersi in gioco, convinta delle proprie scelte e del proprio pensiero, una che non vuole rimanere in una situazione che non è più sostenibile.
Per quanto a momenti entrambi i protagonisti siano incredibilmente saccenti, è un romanzo incredibile, moderno, con delle pagine molto dure, soprattutto quando si racconta l'alcolismo e il linguaggio brutale del "cattivo" del romanzo. Pare che la scrittrice abbia ricalcato il personaggio sul proprio fratello Branwell.
Sono curiosa adesso di leggere Agnes Grey, quello che viene definito come il capolavoro di Anne, anche se quando uscì venne eclissato da Cime Tempestose di Emily, uscito nello stesso anno. Due romanzi molto diversi ma entrambi degni di tutta l'attenzione.
Anne Brontë
La signora di Wildfell Hall
Newton Compton Editori
Euro 4,90
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The only Bronte sister I hadn't read anything by yet and I must say I'm sorry I didn't do it before!
If Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are dramatic and intense, this The Tenant of Widlfell Hall is arguably less shocking but of a very high quality!
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is Helen Graham, a lonely lady with a child who triggers the curiosity of the small town, a place where the arrival of a new and mysterious person is seen as a godsend for chatter and gossip.
The novel is divided into three parts: the first part in which we discover the inhabitants of the village and begin to learn more about some details of the protagonist, told from the point of view of Gilbert Markahm, in love with her but jealous and susceptible; the second part in which there is Helen's diary and then we are told in every detail her story and what brought her to Wildfell Hall; the finale, the epilogue of the story.
The thing that most surprises for a novel written in the 19th century is the extreme modernity of the protagonist and her choice. It could very well be said that Helen is one of the first feminist heroines, a woman who chooses to get away from a wrong relationship, deciding about her life, not letting anyone tell her how she should behave as a woman... obviously with all the limitations of the case, we are still talking about the nineteenth century, it is not comparable to the situation of 2020. But Helen is one who isn't afraid to get involved, convinced of her choices and her own thoughts, one who doesn't want to remain in a situation that it's no more bearable.
As much as both protagonists are incredibly know-it-all at times, it is an incredible, modern novel, with very hard pages, especially when it comes to alcoholism and the brutal language of the "bad guy" of the novel. It seems that the writer has traced the character on her brother Branwell.
I'm curious now to read Agnes Gray, what is referred to as Anne's masterpiece, although when it came out it was eclipsed by Emily's Wuthering Heights, which came out the same year. Two very different novels but both worthy of all the attention.
If Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are dramatic and intense, this The Tenant of Widlfell Hall is arguably less shocking but of a very high quality!
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is Helen Graham, a lonely lady with a child who triggers the curiosity of the small town, a place where the arrival of a new and mysterious person is seen as a godsend for chatter and gossip.
The novel is divided into three parts: the first part in which we discover the inhabitants of the village and begin to learn more about some details of the protagonist, told from the point of view of Gilbert Markahm, in love with her but jealous and susceptible; the second part in which there is Helen's diary and then we are told in every detail her story and what brought her to Wildfell Hall; the finale, the epilogue of the story.
The thing that most surprises for a novel written in the 19th century is the extreme modernity of the protagonist and her choice. It could very well be said that Helen is one of the first feminist heroines, a woman who chooses to get away from a wrong relationship, deciding about her life, not letting anyone tell her how she should behave as a woman... obviously with all the limitations of the case, we are still talking about the nineteenth century, it is not comparable to the situation of 2020. But Helen is one who isn't afraid to get involved, convinced of her choices and her own thoughts, one who doesn't want to remain in a situation that it's no more bearable.
As much as both protagonists are incredibly know-it-all at times, it is an incredible, modern novel, with very hard pages, especially when it comes to alcoholism and the brutal language of the "bad guy" of the novel. It seems that the writer has traced the character on her brother Branwell.
I'm curious now to read Agnes Gray, what is referred to as Anne's masterpiece, although when it came out it was eclipsed by Emily's Wuthering Heights, which came out the same year. Two very different novels but both worthy of all the attention.
Anne Brontë
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
