I liked this novel even better than Jane Eyre! I read it in high school for the first time and have revisited it more times than I have revisited Jane Eyre. And I seem to understand more and more of it as I get older.
In many respects, the heroine Lucy Snowe is similar to Jane: poor, not so pretty, without family, and needing to make her own way alone in the world. Both are quiet, unobtrusive young women who try to disappear into the background of the society they are in as is suited to their temperament and low social station, while regretting and sometimes envying the more outgoing, fortunate ladies who play a more active role in it. Both are shrewd observers of the people around them. Lucy, however, is a more guarded narrator than Jane. She reveals things to the reader in her own time and you are reminded that she is in full control of the story—making you sometimes question how reliable, complete, or objective her point of view is.
The story is a lot more complex than Jane Eyre and the situations Lucy finds herself in are more realistic than the ones in Jane’s life. No wicked aunts, insane wives, mysterious locked doors, or tormented, moody gentlemen here, so those who like the Gothic element in Jane Eyre and come to Villette looking for more of the same will be disappointed. Maybe this is why Villette is relatively neglected compared to Jane Eyre; it does not make the same strong dramatic impact. However, if you are looking for a story you can lose yourself in with sympathetic and lifelike characters and reflections on problems even more widespread today than in Charlotte Bronte’s time (such as loneliness) then Villette is a great choice.
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