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Summary: A portrait of the artist as Lucy Snowe
Review: "Villette" is a more complex, mature novel than "Jane Eyre" and, to many readers, a more unsatisfying one. Unlike "Jane Eyre", "Villette" is no Cinderella tale, and there is no Rochester to stir the heroine's -- and the reader's --emotions. In "Villette", Bronte gives us Lucy Snowe, whom she resembled in many ways: plain, prim, no-nonsense, practical to a fault, and suffering the pains of unrequited love. Unlike the happy ending which delighted us in "Jane Eyre", Lucy finds a hope of happiness at last with M. Paul Emanuel, only to have her prospects shipwrecked literally and figuratively at the end of the book. Many readers have a problem with Bronte's liberal use of French throughout the book which disrupts the narrative, and her forays into Gothic romanticism, which seem contrived and artificial. A more serious problem, for this reviewer, is Bronte's insularity and her narrow-minded frame of reference which rejects anything un-English and un-Protestant. Even with these flaws, "Villette" is a deep, thought-provoking portrayal of the pain of lost illusions.
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Summary: My stoic, passionate Lucy Snowe
Review: As other reviewers have noted, this is a haunting tale, featuring the withdrawn yet passionate Lucy Snowe. Lucy is always trying to make the book about the other characters, and she feels awkward writing about herself and her own feelings. Through her evasion of her own importance, we still get a clear and moving portrait of the narrator. She glides over the incidents of her life, including a vague reference to a ship wreck, and focuses on the story of her friends, like the insufferable Ginevra Fanshawe. While these characters may be happier, more attractive, more liked, they do not have the feeling and intensity of Lucy. Although she tries to remain stoic, her passion does burst through every once and while, and those scenes are some of the most memorable. Otherwise she is patient and self-deprecating, and allows herself to be stepped on. She is a sympathetic, throughly believable character, but Ms. Bronte never gets too sentimental or pitying. This novel is gothic, romantic and realistic, set in a biblical and mythical framework. There are ghosts and shadows, death and grieving, practical jokes and dry wit. To put in plainly, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Much much better and more mature than Jane Eyre.
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Summary: A Soul's Disquietude
Review: 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.
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Summary: Charlotte Bronte's last published novel.
Review: Charlotte Bronte wrote four published novels, and this one was her last. It is very carefully written, and tells the story about a woman who falls too passionately in love to suit Victorian morals and decorum. Although I enjoyed Jane Eyre more than this book, this one is good in it's own right. For one thing Ms. Bronte really bears her soul in this book. We get a much clearer insight of her innermost thoughts and desires. Certainly various scenes in Villette can be traced to what actually happened to Charlotte Bronte in her own lifetime. The book is told in the first person. We get a very good picture of Lucy Snowe, Ms. Bronte's heroine while we read. It's been sometime since I read this book, and I think it's time to reread it again. Ms. Bronte tells such a fine story in her books
Rating: 
Summary: I hate to give a bad review but...
Review: I am big fan of the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. And I hate to give anything by any of them a bad review. (I've debated between giving it 2 or 3 stars.) But I do not care for Villette at all! I got to page 282 and basically decided to stop reading it...I did skim some parts to the end to get an idea of the ending of the book.
This book was like one long plateau. I kept wondering when "something" would happen. There were a few mild climaxes, but nothing significant. I felt like "ho-hum...will this story ever get going?" And then the ending was so disapointing also.
I thought all the coincidences (people from the past suddenly running into each other) was just too unrealistic. I know this is fiction, but it just seemed too contrived...
I realize this book is semi-autobiographical, and Charlotte had just lost her entire family to consumption. So it is understandable this novel is so flat...it reflects her dark mood. But...it still doesn't make for a great book. There is so much ordinary detail and feelings expressed in the book that it almost made me feel like I was reading a journal or diary. And this "journal" should have been better edited to create a more exciting novel! There are some good ideas, and I think this novel could have been so much better...
If you do get this book, make sure you get a copy with the French translations in the back. Or you will get lost by some of the dialogue. Unless you speak French, of course.
Maybe I am just lacking in deep literary analysis - as so many consider this book to have such depth...Maybe I read it with the wrong expectations. Yes, I probably did...but I just didn't care for this book.
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Summary: Villette's first Amazon review?
Review: I was surprised to be the first to comment on this deeply felt work by Charlotte Bronte. Although Jane Eyre will always be my sentimental favorite, I agree with the many critics who see Villette as Charlotte Bronte's best work. Villette's heroine is the lonely and unlovely Lucy Snowe who struggles to free herself from sorrowful past memories of which the details the reader is kept uninformed, and to quell her natural desires for a richer life- full of love, friendship, stimulation, and enjoyment- which she believes is hopelessly out of her reach. Anyone who has ever struggled with loneliness will sympathize with Lucy, whose aloneness Bronte conveys with heartbreaking pathos.
This novel may be a hard read for some who are accustomed to lighter fare. It is certainly not a book that can be read in a day but one that must be slowly enjoyed over a period of time, preferably with a cup of tea.....
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Summary: Almost as Good as Jane Eyre---And That's a Compliment
Review: Of course, Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte's most popular novel, and I would agree that Villette, at least in terms of reading experience, does not live up to that masterpiece. It almost does, though. Villette is one of the most haunting novels I've ever read. The characters are complex and intriguing, and the novel has a leisurely pace that I really enjoyed.
The story follows Lucy Snow, an intelligent, though cold, Englishwoman who is teaching in a French school. Lucy is a dreamer who is prone to depression. She is looking for emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual freedom, and when this foreign society frustrates her attempts she often recedes into despair. Her character, along with Paul Emanuel's, must ungerdo some changes if she ever going to learn to live.
Overall, Villette was an entertaining and intelligent read. Bronte is a superb writer. I do recommend that you find an edition with the French translations in the back. There is a lot of French dialogue (which can be annoying sometimes) that is essential to the reading. Once this is done, Villette is an extraordinary read.
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Summary: Read this book, but get a different version
Review: This is a lousy edition of a pretty good book. The Bantam Classic version is full of obvious typos and has no notes to gloss the numerous French passages. If you read French, you might not mind it so much, but the typos will still be there.
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Summary: ....
Review: Villette is such an excellent novel. Very glad I read this.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Jane Eyre, but then again...
Review: Who can compare to that masterpiece of a novel? Villette was a literary masterpiece as well, but in its own way. Villette was more a tale of one woman's finding of herself than a love story. The heroine, Lucy Snowe, lived her entire life under the stereotypes of each of the people who knew her. (i.e. John Graham Bretton, Mrs. Bretton, Ginevra Fanshawe, Paulina Home/de Bassompierre) She had to realize who she truly was and not who she appeared to her friends. Perhaps it took a while for the plot to develop, but when she discovered who she was and who knew her best (can't tell you who that is), the genius of the novel came to life. It won't be as breathtaking as Jane Eyre, but nor will it be a disappointment. Villette is an opportunity to take off the mask and be who we really are.
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