Annotated Bibliography 

Bekler, Ecevit. “A Foucauldian and Feminist Reading of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.” Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 22, no. 2, Apr. 2022, pp. 728–38. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.une.idm.oclc.org/10.21547/jss.988733.

In this article, Beckler takes two forms of critical approach, feminist and Foucauldian, to highlight how Anne Brontë’s novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall represents a criticism and rejection of the Victorian era’s patriarchal society that diminished the power available to women. Beckler’s utilization of prominent French Philosopher Michel Foucault’s views on the localized mechanisms of repression and power structures aligns with this criticism toward Brontë’s approach to female subordination in society. From various feminist voices, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf, Kate Millett, etc., Beckler takes on the traditional literary aspect of women depicted from a male perspective versus how Anne Brontë’s piece orients the agency of her main character, Helen Huntington. By taking these two interesting forms of analysis, Beckler can take The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and identify areas where Helen’s actions, such as leaving an abusive relationship and taking custody of her child, represent a protest against those traditional gender roles and a rejection of the degradation and lack of power imposed upon her. This is incredibly significant to Beckler as it can further extrapolate to emphasize how a woman could redefine her feminine identity while still portraying rationality, intelligence, and responsibility. 

Drewery, A. J. “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: A Woman’s Place?” Bronte Studies, vol. 38, no. 4, Dec. 2013, pp. 339–47. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.une.idm.oclc.org/10.1179/1474893213Z.00000000080.

In Drewer’s critique, the main problem identified is the complexities of the ideals of male and female education, but also in the analysis of the mistakes made by a female lead as she figures out the limitations of her marriage. Subsequently, the effects of traditional Victorian society and the law emerge as a conflict to how a woman could even endeavor to be independent and maintain levels of morality in line with the times. Drewery’s approach of analysis for this piece looks to evidence from the primary text, Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and applies feminist theory to decipher the many examples of a larger message toward the discriminatory structures within the era, such as family and social life as well as legal rights. Reframing the mistakes of the main character Helen Huntington creates an avenue for examining her educational limitations and the strict confines she feels trapped by to be still moral. This develops a new perspective toward what agency and power she does have, and to Drewery, it makes Brontë’s devotion to truthful realities and representation even more impactful as it reconsiders where a woman’s place in society could be. 

Joshi, Priti. “Masculinity and Gossip in Anne Bronte’s Tenant.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 49, no. 4, Sept. 2009, p. 907. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.une.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsglr.A213607498&site=eds-live&scope=site

In this article, Priti Joshi recognizes the issue of gossip and unpleasant truths as a mechanism within Anne Brontë’s novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as a source of negative criticism of her work. Examining the extent of differentiation between Brontë’s novel and Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women – Joshi uncovered a distortion in the meaning of Brontë’s use of gossip and theories of femininity. Taking this approach, Joshi compares these works and calls attention to the assumptions made about Brontë’s alignment with Wollstonecraft’s denouncement of inconsequential gossip or chat as a setback to more critical feminist inquiries. This reformation takes shape as Joshi points to the fact that Brontë actually had a much more in-depth view of gender politics and femininity which examined the idea of idle chat as a source of power in what a masculine scope suggested it was not. Analysing Brontë’s piece in this manner allows for stereotyped assumptions to be given a new platform and perspective to the agency women had achieved while embedded in deeply patriarchal definitions of knowledge and truths.

Ross, Shawna. “Disconsolate Tenants of the Metabolic Rift: An Anthropocene Feminist View of Farming in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.” Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature, no. 138, Dec. 2020, p. COV13. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.une.idm.oclc.org/10.1353/vct.2020.0019

This article by Shawna Ross identifies a point of focus toward Anne Brontë’s piece, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, belonging to an ecofeminist perspective. To approach this topic, Ross draws support from Marxist’s take on ecology that brings in this aspect of the metabolic rift – referring to the division created between humans and their environment under capitalistic endeavors. Connecting this to Brontë’s novel, Ross takes a feminist recount of the Anthropocene, land management, and rural locations, as well as the emphasis on the state of women’s vulnerabilities during the Victorian period. From these methodologies, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall presents an opportunity for a feminine perspective on essential inquiries into ecological effects and a critique of the British Agricultural revolution. Scenarios within the novel that are imperative frames of reference include the encounters between tenants and the land, the conceptualization of what human interactions with the land produce, and Helen’s diary to reflect on past experiences to understand the present. Ross’s choice of examining the novel in this way provided insightful information that ecofeminists may align with when discovering the variety of narratives, storytelling, and representation that shape the ecological world. 

Shaw, Marion. “Anne Brontë: A Quiet Feminist.” Bronte Studies, vol. 38, no. 4, Dec. 2013, pp. 330-338–338. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.une.idm.oclc.org/10.1179/1474893213Z.00000000088.

Shaw’s piece of secondary criticism toward Anne Brontë’s literary works finds an issue with the remembrance of her work as opposed to those of her sisters. Going further with this problem, Shaw defines that some characteristics and accounts of Anne lead to assumptions that she was simple-minded, passive, and reserved. Through this article, Shaw instead wants to identify how Anne was courageous and practical in her literary pursuits and could subtly provide thoughtful examples of feminist literature. Another point addressed in the overall critique by Shaw is the effects of Anne’s moral and religious sentiments, which perhaps explain the separation of her work by contemporary feminists again from her sisters. The fact that her novels had more moral and familial affairs as topics should not negate the vastly insightful examples of how she questioned the ideas of womanliness and manliness and, more broadly, how gender roles are perceived in family life. The approaches in this article take the novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey as primary sources to base the critique. By looking at Anne’s work in this light, it becomes essential to distinguish how though her subject matter was highly personal, touching on the impacts of these gender relations on children, and morally just with many religious sentiments, it still became a way to advocate for the moral and social rights of women. From Shaw’s critique, the significance lies in how Anne’s underlying and somewhat “quiet” display of feminist rhetoric is equally as radical and thought-provoking as her sisters, and framing her work as such should be well known.