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| Villette (Modern Library Classics) | 
| Author: Charlotte Bronte
Creators: A.s. Byatt, Ignes Sodre
Publisher: Modern Library
Category: Book
List Price: $11.95
Buy Used: $2.28
You Save: $9.67 (81%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 209858
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 656
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.5
ISBN: 037575850X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN: 9780375758508
ASIN: 037575850X
Publication Date: October 9, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"Villette! Villette! Have you read it?" exclaimed George Eliot when Charlotte Bronte's final novel appeared in 1853. "It is a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power."
Arguably Bronte's most refined and deeply felt work, Villette draws on her profound loneliness following the deaths of her three siblings. Lucy Snowe, the narrator of Villette,flees from an unhappy past in England to begin a new file as a teacher at a French boarding school in the great cosmopolitan capital of Villette. Soon Lucy's struggle for independence is overshadowed by both her freindship with a wordly English doctor and her feelings for an autocratic schoolmaster. Bronte's strikingly modern heroine must decide if there is any man in her society with whom she can live and still be free.
"Villette is an amazing book," observed novelist Susan Fromberg Schaeffer. "Written before psychoanalysis came into being, Villette is nevertheless a psychoanalytic work—a psychosexual study of its heroine, Lucy Snowe. Written before the philosophy of existentialism was formulated, the novel's view of the world can only be described as existential. . . . Today it is read and discussed more intensely than Charlotte Bronte's other novels, and many critics now beleive it to be a true master-piece, a work of genius that more than fulfilled the promise of Jane Eyre." Indeed, Virginia Woolf judged Villette to be Bronte's "finest novel."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 56 more reviews...
 Soul Searching June 18, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"Villette" was Charlotte Bronte's final novel, and while it covers some familiar territory, it doesn't quite live up to the standards of her masterpiece "Jane Eyre", or even the much more cohesive "Shirley". The narrator is yet again a rather plain ordinary woman without many prospects, who must rely upon teaching to make her way in the world, chancing to become a teacher at an established school in France. Yet the narrator, Lucy Snowe, lacks charisma and too often rambles away from the story at hand, making "Villette" a slow-paced read with too little payoff in the end.
The story begins with Lucy Snowe living with her godmother, Mrs. Bretton, her son John Graham, and their young visitor, Paulina Home. Lucy details their lives and the relationship between Graham and Polly, before quickly moving on to her time as a companion to a sickly woman. From there, the narrative jumps to her spontaneous trip overseas and her immediate luck in finding a post within Madame Beck's pensionnat, where she eventually becomes an English teacher. Lucy then spends much of her time chronicling the life of the school and the characters that reside there, especially Madame Beck and M. Paul Emanuel. As the novel progresses, Lucy finds herself reunited with her godmother and John Graham, and even Paulina Home as a young lady, for the novel covers at least ten years within Lucy Snowe's life, before wrapping up in a somewhat ambiguous manner.
The main trouble with "Villette" lies with its narrator: Lucy Snowe is an extremely faint shadow of Jane Eyre, her retiring nature making her seem weak and a pushover, rather than being a pleasant and noble characteristic. She allows others to walk all over her and doesn't speak her mind, and the man she falls in love with is such a study in contradictions that readers may have difficulty liking him and rooting for them to be together in the end. The story is poorly paced, spending a huge amount of time on what seem like tangential stories and details, and skipping other details that might enhance the main character's likability. All in all, "Villette" is a credit to Charlotte Bronte, a profound examination of one woman's conscience and character, flaws and faults included.
Different, but for a reason November 7, 2007
I came to "Villette" after having read and fallen in love with "Jane Eyre". When I first began reading "Villete" I knew that I should expect a long exposition leading to a thrilling climax. While the climax did not begin until about page 400, I was not disappointed. Lucy Snowe, while eccentric, speaks to feelings of loneliness that can be extrapolated far beyond this novel. I also found it gratifying that the relationship between Lucy and M. Paul - if rather sudden in its appearance - seemed of a deeper and more genuine sort than that between Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. "Villette" is not the sweeping romance with a happy ending like "Jane Eyre". I was somewhat disappointed with the ending until, shortly after completing the book, I was perusing a biography of Charlotte Bronte from my college's library and discovered just how intensely personal the story of "Villette" was. In fact, the biography used excerpts from "Villette" to illuminate the relationship between Charlotte Bronte and M. Heger, a schoolmaster in Brussels. Now I appreciate how insightful "Villette" is for anyone wishing to get to know Charlotte Bronte better.
P.S. Get an edition with notes that translate the French phrases. You'll lose whole chunks of dialogue without the notes unless you can read French.
 much ado over nothing July 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
too much French; too much detail. slow reading. amazing command of language. thin on plot and action.
 I cannot say it better... June 2, 2007
"All these weary days, I have not for one hour forgotten you." -- Lucy Snowe in Charlotte Bronte's Villette.
Introducing Charlotte Bronte - Beyond Jane Eyre May 16, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think it's safe to say that most of the people who have read "Villette" probably read "Jane Eyre" first. I know that I did. In such cases, "Villette" may come as a slight surprise. While still like "Jane Eyre" in the sense that much of the story tells of the character's history, includes a strange sort of "love" story, and has a series of fascinating characters, "Villette" feels less about the narrator (Lucy Snowe) than about the other characters.
Let me clarify. While the story IS about Lucy Snowe, there are parts that revolve around her friends. These parts are thoroughly enjoyable as these characters are all so vivid and clear. Everything is easy to imagine and written in such a clear fashion. The plot is intriguing, and parts actually made me laugh aloud in surprise. It's a surprising book. The way everything ties in is done so well. "Villette" deserves a wider audience and greater fame than it has. It rivaled "Jane Eyre", and perhaps surpassed it.
While the ending is the place where most people lower their scores, I personally find it brilliant. It is a vague, ambiguous ending that leaves the reader confused, disoriented, and intrigued. What better way to end a book than mystery? Perhaps not a mystery, but we're left trying to figure it out. Unfortunately, there is no answer, so the romantics will choose a happy ending, and the pessimists a sorrow-filled one.
"Villette" has a whole host of characters. It starts out with children - laughing, teasing, quite adorable children. Later there are the wealthy snob characters, the generous, yet suspcious, motherly characters, the handsome, kind young men, the sweet, and beautiful young women, and the annoying yet lovable colleague (one of my favorites!). Each character has their own spark, their own flaws, and their own crowning virtue and reason for attention. Lucy, in the center of this all, is also an interesting character, though occasionally weak and sometimes a little too fluttery for my taste. Then again, tastes vary. You'll have to see for yourself. (M. Paul is totally the coolest, by the way)
WARNING: Much of this book is in French. Keep a French dictionary handy.
"Villette" is a purely enjoyable book. While some parts seemed to drag on and needed extra attention and patience (not to be read while tired! You'll find yourself skimming over pages, yawning), the final, overall impression is a favorable one. This book deserves the name, "classic". It's a great read, and you're sure to enjoy it, especially if you liked "Jane Eyre".
Enjoy!
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