I'd never read a book by Anne Bronte before. I'd read 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte and 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte. I adored 'Jane Eyre' and detested 'Wuthering Heights' and Anne Bronte got ignored.
I have no real complaint about the writing in 'Wuthering Heights mind you, I just thought it was depressing. Even people who love the book would never call it optimistic.
Jane Eyre, on the other hand, is more optimistic. There's a glowing ending in which everyone is happy and well. Some people don't think endings like that are valid but I love it when a book ends that way. All kinds of horrible garbage can happen in the middle of the book, but as long as it ends well I enjoy it. I know there are purists out there gasping at that but that's just the way it is!
Having said all that I decided it was high time to give Anne Bronte a try. I chose to read 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.' I liked it.
And here's the thing this book did for me. It made me profoundly grateful for my husband! And not just a little at that. I'm sorry to say it, but not only is he far superior to the horrible men in the book, but he's better than the good ones too!
It really makes me wonder what kind of nasty men were in Anne Bronte's life that even her good men aren't that great. We all know the Bronte sisters had a wild brother and we don't have to wonder where the example of the less than savory characters came from. But what about the better ones? Wasn't there any exemplary men in her life that would have helped with that?
I guess it struck me because if it hadn't been for Richard I might be thinking the same thing. I might not have known how good men can be.
Anyway, I've been thinking about how an author's life experience effects their writing. Anne Bronte wrote 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' deliberately with a moral in mind knowing it would effect the quality of the finished product, but quality was secondary to her primary goal. It was worth it to her to sacrifice her art to make a point.
For this reason she is considered a sub-standard writer and most experts agree that she is only remembered today for being a Bronte sister. They feel if it weren't for that she would have been long forgotten.
This may well be true, but if she made me feel this good about my husband in 2012 with a book she published in 1848 perhaps her writing is more effective than they are giving her credit for!
