With these simple words, Charlotte Brontë began Villette, her introspective third and final novel to be published during her lifetime.
Hello again, dearest Janeites, and welcome back to the Austen-Brontë reader series! Over the next three weeks I will be covering Charlotte Brontë's Villette, focusing on one volume per week. Differing from my six-week series on Charlotte Brontë's second novel, Shirley, or JASP's debut vlog series (with Na'dayah Pugh and Sarah Hurley) on the topic of Jane Eyre, what lies in store with Villette will instead be rather bite-sized. Commencing next week on August 23, you can expect a brief chapter summary and reflection post each Friday.
Should you, too, feel inclined to foray into Villette for yourself, the schedule is as follows:
August 23: Volume I (Chapters 1-15)
August 30: Volume II (Chapters 16-27)
September 6: Volume III (Chapters 28-41)
September 13: Conclusion
Why join me?
A far-cry from the third-person-narration and near-sentimental, pastoral elements of Shirley, this subjective, dramatic, first-person novel hearkens its readers back to the authoress's successful Gothic debut, Jane Eyre. Championing the clear-eyed observation of one's heart, Villette follows orphaned Lucy Snowe as she leaves behind familial tragedy and her home in England to reinvent herself as a girl's schoolteacher in a new country. Modeled off of one of her earlier pieces of writing, The Professor, many people– literary greats among them– have called Villette Charlotte Brontë's tour-de-force. This is my first reading of the novel, so you, dear readers, will be privy to my first impressions, questions, speculations, and research.
As we journey along together, I would love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to use the comments as much or as little as you would like. Keep an eye out for my first post in the Villette series next Friday, the 23rd, and without further ado, I'll let you get to reading!
'But, Maizie,' you might say. 'Perhaps instead of Brontë's Villette I am in the mood for an Austen novel, perhaps a "light & bright & sparkling" read?' If that is the case, dear reader, never fear! I implore you to check out the delightful Sarah Hurley's blog series covering Jane Austen's most popular novel, the ephemeral Pride and Prejudice, starting August 19.
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