Villette (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

~ Charlotte Brontë (Author), Jerome Beaty (Afterword)
Key Phrases: first classe, bonnet grec, Madame Beck, Miss Fanshawe, Rue Fossette (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Juliet Stevenson's fine voice lends to her reading of Charlotte Bronte's Villete abridged form. Her last work revolves around a girls' school teacher and her attraction to a handsome doctor. While this is a highly regarded novel of Bronte's, it's also a lesser-known work and its appearance in audio promises newcomers the delight of Bronte's observational prowess wrapped in an engrossing audio format. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Brontë’s finest novel."
--Virginia Woolf --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (February 3, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451520831
• ISBN-13: 978-0451520838
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,754,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Would've Given It a 5-Star Rating If Not for..., October 8, 1999

By	anna-joelle (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

its rather hurried and ambigious ending, which leaves the reader having to form his/her own version of the ending ie. whether a happy or sad one. (Read the Signet Classic, the afterword by Jerome Beaty explains that Charlotte Bronte actually wanted a somewhat sad ending to the story, but her father wanted it to be a happy one, so Bronte compromised by leaving the ending 'hanging' so that the readers can decide for themselves how the story ends.)

Apart from the above dissapointment, this is a marvelous classic and beautifully written, a great and indepth analysis of the workings of the human heart and mind. I loved it better than Jane Eyre (except for the ending: Jane Eyre's is more complete and satisfying). You'll love the character of M.Paul - despite his eccentric behaviour, he's really a darling with a heart of gold, which Lucy Snowe soon discovers!

I recommend that you buy the Signet Classic version which has the English translation to the over 400 French phrases found in the book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Villette, Charlotte Bronte's underrated masterpiece, September 20, 2000

By	Nancy B. LaMotta (Annandale, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Villette (English Library) (Paperback)

Having read this book 7 times over the past 15 years, I find that the story and characters just get better and better! As much as I idolize _Jane Eyre,_ this story of the oft depressed and melancholy Lucy Snowe sparks the imagination. Lucy is a Jane Eyre without the chutzpah, and with loads less self-esteem; but shares Jane's strict code of conduct, and forces you to value her. In a way, I believe Lucy finds an even worthier match than Jane did--in M. Paul Emmanuel, passionate professor of literature. In a way, the scenes between him and Lucy excite my imagination all the more, because they're understated, AND because I already know how the story ends. The pain lends the love story incredible passion--the tame, orderly, parallel love story of Graham and Paulina just places that of Paul and Lucy in greater relief. The two greatest actions in the book--a slap and a kiss--are so climactic and satisfying, that when I get to that section of the novel, I won't put it down until the end. I am still reeling! Was it better to have loved and lost? _Villette_ answers that question with a resounding affirmative.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Soul's Disquietude, June 14, 2003

By	A. Casalino "V^^^^^V" (Downers Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Villette (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Charlotte Bronte writes with a depth of voice rarely known in English - nay, even World literature. Her earlier novel, JANE EYRE, is in fact one of my most beloved novels of all time.

Her novel VILLETTE is almost wholly the story of an evolution - a remarkable enlightening, filled with the inner vivid color of one individual human soul. The reader follows that soul past loss of family and fortune during childhood, afterwards making its way over the English Channel to a position earning bread in a school for girls. While in this position, said soul must confront invasive jealousy, intense debilitating loneliness, self-absorbed and egotistic friendship, passion for a suitor out of reach, the alarm of ghostly spectres, and the pristine touch of unconditional love.

Initially I must say that Lucy Snow, confoundedly endearing heroine of VILLETTE, is no Jane Eyre: No. Not by any stretch of the imagination. She is, in many ways, quite the opposite. Lucy radically refrains wherein Jane restlessly yearns; Lucy's narration is demure and reticent, while Jane's is warm and open; in turn, the mettle of their respective heroes reflects sharp contrast as well: underneath surface fallibilities, Lucy's is painstakingly unveiled as a most pure moralistic ideal, whereas Jane's is possessed of ominous, deep-seated flaws despite a desperate heart of gold. Fate and providence, too, share sharply divergent roles in these two stories. Hence it must without further ado be disclosed that Charlotte Bronte's final novel was, overall, for me an arduous task to read. Indeed it was! - But I do say this in the very best sense of that word.

Critically, I must say it was a challenge because of the overwhelming amount of French dialogue. I realize that French was to some degree a universal language in Victorian England -quite fluently deciphered, read and spoken amongst the educated population...so I cannot on that note accuse the author of prosaic snobbery. However, as an American in the 21st century, I cannot deny that my tentative knowledge of the French language to some extent limited my absorption of the dialogue. However, this was only a small disadvantage - as I believe the gist is still there despite all.

Moreover, Lucy has an alluring, yet baffling personality- I love her, but cannot for the life of me understand her. This tale is more of an inwardly emotional journey than anything eventfully climaxing or epically engaging. Plot-wise, this merely treks the path of a young English woman completely alone in the world gaining her livelihood in a girls' school on the European continent. Affecting the treads of that path are those, come by choice or obligation, closest to her: her voyeuristic employer Madame Beck, friends - privileged & affectionate childhood companion Polly and vain & frivolous fellow student Ginerva - the handsome & winsome Dr. John, and temperamental & eccentric professor M. Paul. It's truly an inward journey- a seeking and finding of one's own identity: the heroine - enthralled in a life as outwardly oppressive as it is inwardly rich - is undeniably endearing, her story wrought with so many sparkles of pain, so few of bliss.

Without doubt, the hand of providence - of God - is omnipresent in JANE EYRE. In VILLETTE, it is conspicuously absent. For me, to elaborate on this point would take thousands of more words - words which I am, fortunately, too lazy to write right now. I can only say that, after reading both novels, one may be able to see this point as glaringly apparent.

Though my love for VILLETTE is nowhere near so great as my love for JANE EYRE, I must allow that it is in certain respects a greater literary achievement for Charlotte Bronte. The writing herein persistently touches genius, and the characters are meticulously drawn and unforsakenly human.