It pains me to say it, but I think that I may identify with Lucy Snowe more than any other character in literature, and thus, in many ways, Brontë herself. It doesn't surprise me that she shares my own Myers-Briggs type (INFJ), as Lucy is a forbearing, passionate character who suffers as a result of her own humility, and she deceives everyone around her in thinking her the strong, silent type who is completely content with who she is, when in actuality life for her is a miserable, never-ending torture. But she pushes through it anyway, never complaining, even when there's no hope and all her dreams are shattered before her. She won't go down in history, and few might remember her, but her effect she has on others' lives is beyond her comprehension. ( )

The story delves into Lucy's life from the moment she stays with her Godmother as well as further guests. Later in Lucy's journey, she crosses paths with these guests and while in Vilette starts various relationships, both platonic and love. This is a lengthy and heavy book, exploring love and heartache.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. ( )

I'm gonna have to recalibrate my rating system. This is a five star work!! I forgot how Charlotte Bronte can rip you apart. The storms! ( )

The story delves into Lucy's life from the moment she stays with her Godmother as well as further guests. Later in Lucy's journey, she crosses paths with these guests and while in Vilette starts various relationships, both platonic and love. This is a lengthy and heavy book, exploring love and heartache.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. ( )

While this was as well written as one would expect, I found this third Charlotte Bronte novel too slow and have given up on it around 70% of the way through. The main character Lucy Snowe is an English teacher at a girls' school in the fictional city of Villette in the fictional country of Labassecour (which feels rather like Belgium). I enjoyed some of her passive aggressive clashes with Mme Beck, the headmistress, who was probably the most interesting character in the novel, but was rather bored by the romantic manoeuvrings (and it's not that I never like romance as a plot element, it just didn't work for me here). This novel was a reworking of the first novel Charlotte wrote The Professor, but which was published posthumously; the theme and plot is similar, but characters and setting different. ( )