On Helen Huntingdon’s Feminism In Anne Bronte’s The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall

Anne Bronte(1820-1849), the youngest sister of the famous Bronte Sisters, has been praised as the forerunner of Victorian female liberation. Her second novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall(henceforth referred to as Wildfell Hall) has been recognized as the declaration of female independence. This novel is a story of the heroine Helen who pursues her identity. It tells that a woman named Helen marries a dandy man Arthur Huntingdon, but soon she cannot tolerate the evil behaviors of her husband. Then, Helen, in the alias of Mrs. Graham, escapes from home with her son and lives on painting at Grassdal Manor, where she meets the righteous Gilbert Markham. After tiding over all difficulties, Helen and Gilbert finally unit together happily. This thesis, based on feminism theory mainly from Elaine Showalter, aims to make a study of the feminist movement through the development of Helen Huntingdon in Wildfell Hall, and discloses Anne Bronte’s female value and the potential social reasons.The main body is divided into three phrases. In the first feminine phrase, it is unfolded from two aspects: Helen’s piety to religion and the subjection to men. Helen internalizes the male standards to behave like what the male society requires, and to demonstrate her feminine from the aspects of religious piety and the subjection to male so as to win the respect from men. When she finds that her compromise only stimulates the augmentation of Arthur’s arbitraries, Helen decides to get up and fights for her own rights. In the second feminist phrase, Helen bravely challenges man’s authority and establishes her own independent status. She becomes a radical feminist fighter, opposing directly to the male society. When she is not just satisfied with the material authority, she sublimates to the spiritual pursuit in the third phrase. In the third phrase, Helen emancipates herself from her private room and constructs her identity from the perspective of spiritual free and moral pursuit. Helen transforms her radical fight to rational resist, and constructs her own identity rationally.By analyzing the three phrases, it comes naturally to the conclusion that Helen demonstrates a rational and moral way to pursue self-identity for Victorian women. The characteristics and qualities of the three phrases are perfectly embodied in Helen. Wildfell Hall realizes the textuality of a refined female psychological researches. Furthermore, it proves that this novel has synthesized the three phrases feminism characteristics, which demonstrates the advancement and foresight of Anne in feminism sense. Besides, as a product of special society, this novel reveals that the first industrial revolution not only accelerates the development of economy and cities but also awakens the desires for equality and freedom.Anne Bronte displays her humanistic concern on Victorian women, which sheds lights on the real living status at that time and arouses the retrospection of society. It provides a visual angle for feminism criticism, which is conducive to the further understanding of Victorian female culture. Hopefully, this thesis can enrich the researches on Anne Bronte and on Wildfell Hall, and then promotes the development of the researches on Victorian female literature.