Anne, The Overlooked Bronte Sister

I fell into a black hole of paper grading last week, but have finally emerged triumphant (sort of) and with a new essay (YES):

The youngest of the six Bronte children, Anne was the author of two novels, both bestsellers in her time; yet, as is often the case when family members work in the same field, Anne's writing was judged in relation to Charlotte's and Emily's and many critics have claimed that she simply lacked the talent of her more famous sisters. However, the Bronte sisters were not the literary equivalent of, say, the Baldwin brothers; that is, talent did not diminish with each subsequent sibling. Charlotte was not Alec and Anne is not Billy. Rather, they were all fantastically brilliant in their own ways, which makes them that much more remarkable. And while it's true that Anne wasn't as dramatic as Emily (but then again, who was) nor as prolific as Charlotte, she still possessed a masterful literary talent. Perhaps her vision isn't as grand, but girlfriend can still write a page-turner. See: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Anne's writing style was quite different from that of her more famous sisters and was, perhaps, not as appreciated during her lifetime. Whereas Emily and Charlotte were clearly influenced by Romanticism, Anne's style is closer to Realism. As she explained in the preface to the second edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, “My object in writing the following pages was not simply to amuse the reader (…) I wished to tell the truth, for truth always conveys its own moral to those who are able to receive it.”

She is also often credited with writing one of the first feminist novels. Case in point: Unlike her older sisters, Anne didn't romanticize love, especially if said love came from a handsome, but emotionally abusive man. In her world,  the woman leaves said abusive man. This is best exemplified in Kate Beaton’s  brilliant comic, “Dude Watchin’ With The Brontes”. 

When you're about seventeen you want a red-hot obsessive romance like Wuthering Heights’ Healthcliff and Cathy. Then, when you're in your early twenties you want a mysterious, rich older man like Rochester in Jane Eyre. But, after dating a few assholes in your youth, you eventually smarten up and realize that the nice guy down the street is really your best bet if you're looking for long-term stability.

Gilbert Markham, the narrator of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, has the distinction of being the only male Bronte character that is actually likable. (I mean, I guess you could make the case for Rochester, but come on. He kept his wife LOCKED in his ATTIC). He’s a little cocky, but he’s not emotionally abusive or an alcoholic, and he still exhibits all the passionate, heart-wrenching love-feelings that we’ve come to expect from Bronte characters, but without all the self-destructive behavior. Tenant also got it's very own BBC mini-series complete with sexy leading man, Toby Stephens, who also happens to be Dame Maggie Smith's son!

 Gentleman-farming has never looked so good...

However, it’s the female protagonist, the beautiful and mysterious  Helen Graham, that provides us with an early role model for female empowerment—and also caused quite a stir with Victorian readers. Though decidedly tame by today’s standards, the novel was considered to be rather shocking for the time and she was criticized for depicting scenes of debauchery, alcoholism, and abuse. However, Anne stood by her work: “(…) when we have to do with vice and vicious characters, I maintain it is better to depict them as they really are than as they would wish to appear.”

 I don’t want to spoil the story for you, so I’ll just say that compared to Emily’s Cathy and even Charlotte’s Jane, Helen is positively level-headed when it comes to love. She wants happiness, but she also wants what’s best for her and her son, and she expects the men in her life to meet these expectations, or else they won’t get her. BAM.

Tenant  was Anne's second novel after Agnes Grey, and despite, or perhaps because of the controversy, it became a monster hit, selling out within six weeks. Unfortunately, she couldn't enjoy her success for very long. Like pretty much everyone in the Bronte family, Anne died well before her time at the age of 29, a mere six months after the death of Emily. And as the years passed, her contributions to literature began to play second fiddle to Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Consider though that Anne wrote Tenant before Charlotte, her elder by four years, wrote Jane Eyre.  One can only speculate on what else would have come from her had she had more time.