The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall By Anne Bronte: Helen Huntingdon And The Norms Of The Victorian Heroine
Anne Bronte's 19th century The Tenant of Wildfell Hall presents the protagonist Helen Huntingdon as a conflict between the stringent gender roles of the Victorian period which were "more defined than at any time in history" and her repressed desire to emancipate. Upon exploration, I believe that Bronte's protagonist does not 'challenge' the ideals of a Victorian heroine as Lupold argues, but rather succumbs to the archetypal 'Angel in the House' who is meek, passive and docile. Bronte explores this largely through Arthur Huntingdon who personifies the patriarchal society. Furthermore, through Bronte's attempt at creating a 'New Woman', the novel is framed with female isolation both within and without marriage, emphasizing the overpowering nature of Victorian gender ideals which keep Helen firmly in her place as a subservient woman.
As a Victorian text, arguably, it is inevitable to have a male character who dominates the house and in turn, society, but largely, across the literary works of the Bronte sisters, their failed attempts to create a completely liberated woman only fuel female oppression as part of pre-existing patriarchal ideologies. From the beginning of Helen and Arthur Huntingdon's relationship, it is clear that Helen is aware of Arthur's behavior as she claims to "love the sinner", likening Arthur to what Lord Macaulay coined as the 'Byronic hero' and thus, allows herself to be subservient, reinforcing her role as the 'Angel of the House'. Helen mentions that Arthur's "notions of matrimonial duties are not my notions", with the use of repetition stressing the disparity in their views on a woman's role. Helen's artwork - a male-dominated sphere in 19th century Britain - is "in various stages of progression" mirroring her attempt to escape the confinement of her marriage.
Arguably, Helen does try to "challenge the norms of the Victorian heroine" however, in doing this, she eventually falls victim to the patriarch as she ends the novel with Gilbert Markham and thus, allows the reader to question whether women cannot survive without the presence of a man. The presentation of female isolation is palpable not only across this text but across much literature of the 19th century. Bronte immediately establishes Helen as an outcast through her attempts to flee her marriage with her son, defying the social norms at the highest level. Helen questions what to do with the "serious part of myself" which connotes typically male attributes, such as intelligence and ambition, demonstrating Bronte's attempt at crafting Helen as a 'New Woman'. However, she represses this "serious part" and therefore does not 'challenge the norms of the Victorian heroine' as Lupold argues but conforms to the stereotypically docile woman of the 19th century.
Although Helen does try to "challenge the norms of the Victorian heroine", eventually Helen returns to marriage, suggesting that the patriarchy is an inescapable social construct. As Arthur's "idea of a wife is to love one devotedly and to stay at home - to wait upon her husband and amuse him and minister to his comfort in every way", despite Helen's initial defiance against these traditional matrimonial duties is reversed when she nurses Arthur during his sickness, "ministering to his comfort in every way". Consequently, it could be said that Helen conforms to what Barbara Welter calls the 'cult of true womanhood' which is to 'accept female conformity and repression'. Thus, it is clear that in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Helen does try to escape her marriage, and in turn the 'cult of true womanhood' but remains a passive and docile victim of the patriarch.
