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Villette
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Villette: Week 3: Chapters XI-XV
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M. Paul: M Paul is of course one of the ‘new’ character that we see this week. Since we had only got a brief glimpse earlier; he seems domineering and used to having his way with things. What did we think of the interactions between him and Lucy?
De Hamal: we might be seeing more of him in future sections, but at the moment we have only been introduced to him and learn of him as one of Ginevra’s suitors.
Dr John: The handsome young Dr John is the cause of much confusion in this week’s chapters. Is he encouraging Madame Beck or laughing at her? Is Rosine the object of his affections? But no, it is Ginevra! Is he really so blind to her character (or too smitten to see), or is she so oblivious to what Lucy thinks are his merits? Lucy seems to think she can't be
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The introduction of a ghost story from the past, involving a nun, and then the figure in the grey dress whom Lucy spies in the garden, seem to bring in a gothic element into the story; the later figure we know of course is no ghost, but what did you think of the ghost story being introduced?
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A play is organized for Madame Beck’s fete; the students are excited about dressing u and putting on their performance; Lucy is called on at the last minute to stand in for someone, and M Paul pretty much bullies her into learning her part. But then she stands up for herself at the performance making her own costume and giving her own interpretation to the part. This was comparable with some of the situations we’ve seen between Lucy and Ginevra too. How do these make one see Lucy?
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Storms, rain, ill weather seem to always spell back luck for Lucy; and this time too, it brings on illness and unease. But is it just loneliness or something more?
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Love, romance, intrigues are quite the theme this week, with suspected feeling and real feelings and supposed feelings, all being dealt with. Did any one think Madame Beck was charmed by the doctor? What about Lucy’s suspicions regarding Rosine? And when the truth is revealed, is Lucy merely shocked or is there a hint of jealousy as well? What do we think of Lucy’s own feelings towards Dr John?
Interestingly, the word crétin was actually derived from an earlier German word meaning "Christian", and was meant to convey that the sufferer, while deformed and mentally infirm due to a thyroid condition, was still a human being, and not a beast. (I'm reading this on my Kindle and that's what it told me.)
I thought it was horrible that M. Emanuel locked Lucy in that hot attic with the vermin and completely neglected her need for food and water! Seriously abusive (although there's a lot of abuse in this book!).I didn't see what the big deal was about wearing a man's costume for a man's part at a ladies' school, but I'm a mezzo. Maybe she was worried about exposing the shape of her legs? It could be interpreted as a bit risqué. And we know Lucy is very concerned with everyone being perfectly correct all the time.
Lucy has decided the theater is not for her because she has decided that everything is not for her. She sees herself as a "looker-on" and no longer a real person in the world.
I sensed that the real essence of the novel was starting to come through in this section. The focus on the school and Villette (which is definitely a thinly disguised Brussels) provided the setting for all the encounters, both amorous and otherwise. There is really too much to comment on all once, the events and Lucy’s thoughts need to sink in before they can be fully comprehended.
I liked the way that Lucy created her own sanctuary space in the alleyway, even refurbishing the seat, so that she could spend time with her own thoughts and ideas. It was a clever device that even her special place was eventually invaded by the lover’s box and Dr. John.
Lucy’s passions and sensitivities have started to reveal themselves both in her admission of the effect that a wild, stormy night has upon her and the more sensuous effect of the warm summer weather.
‘On summer mornings I used to rise early, to enjoy them alone; on summer evenings, to linger solitary, to keep tryste with the rising moon, or taste one kiss of the evening breeze, or fancy rather than feel the freshness of dew descending.’
She certainly admires Dr. John and despite Ginevra’s cruel mockery of Lucy regarding her officer ‘beau,’ Dr. John is definitely the one she would choose given the chance.
Lady Clementina wrote: "matters of the heartLove, romance, intrigues are quite the theme this week, with suspected feeling and real feelings and supposed feelings, all being dealt with. Did any one think Madame Beck was ..."
The romantic triangle formed by Dr. John, Ginevra, and Lucy is intriguing and complicated. Dr. John is smitten by Ginevra, Lucy is hopelessly attracted to Dr. John. But there is definitely something sensual and sexual between Lucy and Ginevra.
The spectacle seemed somehow suggestive. [.....]I knew myself but a fop, but where he was outcast I could please. Now I know I acted as if wishful and resolute to win and conquer. Ginevra seconded me; between us we half-changed the nature of the rôle, gilding it from top to toe. [...]Ginevra was tender; how could I be otherwise than chivalric? Retaining the letter, I recklessly altered the spirit of the rôle.Although Lucy plays the part of the young fop in her dress, altered only by a few props, she revels in the rôle of passionate lover to Ginevra.
LiLi wrote: "I thought it was horrible that M. Emanuel locked Lucy in that hot attic with the vermin and completely neglected her need for food and water! Seriously abusive (although there's a lot of abuse in t..."Is M. Paul abusive or just careless? Thoughtless of others. Did he realize the horror of Lucy's prison? He was solving the problem of a place where she could focus on learning her lines without being interrupted. And it worked.
Ginny wrote: "LiLi wrote: “ Is M. Paul abusive or just careless? Thoughtless of others...."I thought that the whole episode of the play was more about M. Paul coming to know and understand Lucy as a woman. At the start he just treats her like one of his pupils or colleagues, to be utilised as necessary. By the end of the drama he can’t help but know her much better and admire the way she carried off the part. The fact that she put her foot down regarding the male costume and he backed down showed how he had moved from bullying/domineering her to cajoling her, inevitably respecting her more.
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Agreed that he gets to see Lucy more as a person through the process.
The matter of the costume may have been part propriety and part retaining some autonomy in the matter, some of herself rather than just becoming anyone's puppet. It seemed to me the same as she's been doing with Ginevra. Helping her (like with her mending) but then telling her off when she went too far
@Ginny, I thought I was the only one! I also got the idea that Lucy might have a crush on Ginevra.
Maybe, and I understand what his goal was. However, he had no way of knowing if her constitution could handle it. He could have made her dangerously ill.
@Trev, do we know where the Pensionnat Héger was located? I sort of imagined Lucy's sojourn there based on places I'd seen; but it would be interesting to see on a map.
I also liked Lucy's alley sanctuary, and was sad when she lost it.I find myself wondering why Lucy is so invested in Ginevra's love life. (Again, does she want to date her?) I guess she really doesn't have a lot of her own going on. But what does it matter which man Ginevra picks, as long as neither is actually mean or seriously problematic? We have heard Dr John speak of de Hamal in vaguely disparaging terms, but it's unclear whether this points to serious faults, or dislike based on rivalry.
Whether Lucy fancies Dr John or simply admires him, it seems bizarre that she should try to get Ginevra to chuse him. Maybe she should get back into the theater to give herself something else to occupy her mind!
@Ginny, thanks for sharing the picture!
I wish we had heard the story that Lucy told the priest. She is greatly comforted simply by having someone to tell her troubles to. Even when she is not all alone at the school, there really is no one she can talk openly and honestly to. And then, again she is lost in the storm and and the dark. A cliffhanger of a chapter. I haven't read ahead, because I didn't want to bring spoilers into this thread. "I got immeshed in a network of turns unknown.[...] Strong and horizontal thundered the current of the wind from north-west to south-east; it brought rain like spray, and sometimes a sharp hail, like shot: it was cold and pierced me to the vitals."
I agree, she must be very lonely. She's obviously very depressed and isolated in this chapter.
I wonder if she were discussing suicidal ideation in the confessional. That would definitely have been looked on as sinful!
LiLi wrote: "@Trev, do we know where the Pensionnat Héger was located? I sort of imagined Lucy's sojourn there based on places I'd seen; but it would be interesting to see on a map."Here are three maps, one old (with the pensionnat/school picked out in red) and a two new tourist maps. Using the park, statue and steps as landmarks, it must be possible to find the location.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QB8Ui5rTRS...
https://media-cdn.sygictraveldata.com...
https://www.mapaplan.com/travel-map/b...
I have never been to Brussels so I can’t be sure if it can be found today. It would be great to be able to walk down that alleyway in the footsteps of Charlotte/Lucy but It is probably not possible now.
I have found a fascinating article that was first published in the Lippincotts Magazine in December 1885 by Theo. Wolfe. It is an account of a visit to Brussels and the places frequented by Charlotte as well as the locations mentioned in her novels. Here are a few short extracts…
‘ Proceeding from St. Gudule, by the little street at the back of the cathedral, to the Rue Royale, and a short distance along that grand thoroughfare, we reached the park and a locality familiar to Miss Bronté's readers………..
…….. It was across this park that Lucy Snowe was piloted from the bureau of the diligence by the chivalrous stranger, Dr. John, on the night when she, despoiled, helpless, and solitary, arrived in Brussel……………
……… Facing us, at the extremity of the park, was the unpretentious palace of the king, in the small square across the Rue Royale at our right was the statue of General Béliard, and we knew that just behind it we should find the Rue Fossette and Charlotte Bronté's pensionnat, for Crimsworth, "The Professor," standing by the statue, had "looked down a great staircase" to the door-way of the school, and poor Lucy, on that forlorn first night in "Villette," to avoid the insolence of a pair of ruffians, had hastened down a flight of steps from the Rue Royale, and had come, not to the inn she sought, but to the pensionnat of Madame Beck.……
…….. From the statue we descended, by a quadruple series of wide stone stairs, into a narrow street, old-fashioned and clean, quiet and secluded in the very heart of the great city,—the Rue d'Isabelle,—and just opposite the foot of the steps we came to the wide door of a spacious, quadrangular, stuccoed old mansion, with a bit of foliage showing over a high wall at one side. A bright plate embellishes the door and bears the inscription,
PENSIONNAT DE DEMOISELLES - Hegér-parent…’
The whole article is well worth reading but does contain one or two spoilers so it might be best to finish the novel first. Here is a link to the article.
https://annie-stayathomeartist.blogsp...
The maps are very helpful. I remember walking through that park and past both the Palace and the Parliament, but it might be fun to navigate on Google Street view to see the stairs Lucy took, etc., because I'm pretty sure I'm imagining the wrong stairs in my head!I'll probably look at the blog entry after reading the book, as you suggested.
Do you know if the church is meant to be St. Gudule/Brussels Cathedral? (I'm sorry, but I'd rather avoid the spoilers in that article). Lucy twists and turns so often on that night and gets herself completely lost, so it's hard to tell where she is.
LiLi wrote: "The maps are very helpful. I remember walking through that park and past both the Palace and the Parliament, but it might be fun to navigate on Google Street view to see the stairs Lucy took, etc.,..."I had a look on Street View. It is the set of steps just outside the south west corner of the park with the statue in front in the middle of a small square.
Here is a photo looking from the park towards the steps.
https://www.instantstreetview.com/@50...
It doesn’t look like you can travel down the steps using the version of Street View that I was using.
As for the church, I don’t think it is the cathedral because Lucy seemed to wander quite a long way, but I could be wrong.
Thanks! I found this short blog post, which states that the area has been completely redeveloped. There's an overlay map showing the old and new. The author also says that Charlotte Brontë deliberately moved things around in addition to using code names. The confession in the church is not set in Brussels Cathedral, but based on an experience C.B. had there.https://ofbooksandmenblog.wordpress.c...
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LiLi wrote: "Thanks! I found this short blog post, which states that the area has been completely redeveloped. There's an overlay map showing the old and new. The author also says that Charlotte Brontë delibera..."That blog was a great find LiLi, and very informative. Thanks for sharing it.
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Haha, good point, Lucia. I have a couple of those (charity shop finds) on my bookshelf and I really need to check them out to see what all the fuss is about.
No fan of the gothic part, but it was quite popular then. And again the prejudices against the "popish" church.
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This week’s chapters unfold entirely in Villette, and more or less, around Madame Beck’s pensionnat, but bring with them several interesting developments and some revelations. Also a character we met only briefly before, reenters the scene.
Summary of developments
We see Dr John beginning to completely replace Madame Beck’s previous doctor, Dr Pillule at the pensionnat, as now her third daughter, Georgette, falls ill—this time a somewhat serious matter that has called for the other two to be sent away. Madame Beck also introduces Dr John into the school to attend pupils who need a doctor, leading to some protest which she quells quite admirably but also rumour which has Lucy thinking that she might have fallen in love with the handsome young doctor. But seemingly under a spell for a while, Madame Beck is soon back to her controlling self, and also back at her usual methods for running her establishment.
But these are not the only matters of heart at play; for Lucy, when out in the school’s lovely garden, for some solitude and fresh air, chances upon some strange goings in involving a figure in a grey dress. But who might this be? Dr John seems to be involved in the matter, but who is it that has attracted him to the school. For a while she even begins to think that it is Rosine the maid, till it is made clear that she has only been opening the door for some money. Soon enough, the mystery is solved for at the ball, part of Madame Beck’s fete, we not only meet De Hamal, one of Ginevra’s suitors, but it is also revealed (as Lili suspected), that Dr John is indeed Isidore, and seems to be under quite a misapprehension about Ginevra’s character.
Meanwhile, preparations are on for Madame Beck’s fete, which involve not only collections for a present, but also a play, and here, at the last minute, Lucy is roped in to play a part. She does this readily, but rather than being completely bullied, does it on her own terms. She seems to enjoy her performance, yet declares that the theatre is not for her. With the preparations for the play, Madame Beck’s cousin, M Paul Emmanuel reappears on the scene. He seems rather a domineering man, more so than Madame herself, and matters of exams and the play are fully unde his charge, but to his disappointment, he can’t take charge of the English exam. This leads to quite an interesting conversation with Lucy.
School breaks for a three-week vacation, and Lucy initially finds a differently abled child under her care, who is rather insensitively referred to by her as a ‘cretin’, and she seems glad when the child’s grandmother takes charge. But the loneliness once she is on her own, and once again, stormy weather which seems to always be Lucy’s nemesis, seems to make her uneasy and ill, taking her to a priest for confession, and then finding her fainting at the end.