The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final book written by Anne Brontë, an English author. It was first published in 1848 using the name Acton Bell. This novel was very different from other books by the Brontë family and caused a lot of attention when it was released. However, after Anne died, her sister Charlotte stopped it from being republished in England until 1854.

The story is told through letters written by Gilbert Markham to a friend. In these letters, Gilbert describes meeting Helen Graham, a young widow who moves to Wildfell Hall with her son and a servant. Wildfell Hall is an old mansion that had not been used for many years. Helen works as an artist and earns money by selling her paintings, which was unusual for women in the early 1800s. Her choice to live alone and focus on her career causes rumors in the nearby village, and she is treated as an outcast. Gilbert later learns that Helen left her husband to protect her son from his abusive behavior. The book highlights problems in marriage and shows women working outside the home. It also reflects Anne Brontë’s belief in the idea that everyone can be saved.

Today, many critics believe The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of the first feminist novels. Helen’s decision to leave her husband and take their child breaks both the social rules and the laws of early 19th-century England.

Background

Some parts of the life and personality of the author's brother, Branwell Brontë, are similar to those of Helen's husband, Arthur Huntingdon, in the novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Branwell and Arthur share three traits: both were described as physically attractive; both had romantic relationships outside of marriage (before his affair with Mrs. Robinson, Branwell is thought by some to have had a child who died shortly after birth); and both struggled with heavy drinking. Another character in the novel, Lord Lowborough, uses opium, which may also be linked to Branwell's habits.

Another possible influence comes from the story of Mrs. Collins, the wife of a local church worker. In November 1840, she asked Anne's father, Patrick Brontë, for help with her husband's abusive behavior. Patrick advised her to leave him. Mrs. Collins returned to Haworth in the spring of 1847, during the time Anne was writing The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and shared how she had created a new life for herself and her two children.

Locations

Winifred Gérin, a writer who studied the lives of the Brontë sisters, believed that the real-life inspiration for Wildfell Hall in the novel was Ponden Hall, a farmhouse near Stanbury in West Yorkshire. Ponden Hall and Wildfell Hall share some similar features, such as windows with a lattice design and a central entrance area with a plaque showing a date above it.

Blake Hall in Mirfield, where Anne Brontë worked as a governess, was thought by Ellen Nussey, a friend of Charlotte Brontë, to be the model for Grassdale Manor, the country home of Arthur Huntingdon in the novel. Ellen shared this idea with Edward Morison Wimperis, an artist who was asked to draw pictures for books about the Brontë sisters in 1872. However, Blake Hall and Thorpe Green, another house where Anne worked as a governess, do not exactly match Grassdale Manor in the book.

The village near Wildfell Hall, called Linden-Car, is located in Yorkshire. In northern English dialect, the word "Car" means a pool, pond, or a wet, low area of land. Another place mentioned is Lindenhope, where the word "hope" in Northeastern English refers to a small, enclosed valley.

Plot summary

The novel is divided into three volumes.

Part One (Chapters 1 to 15) is written as a letter from farmer Gilbert Markham to his friend Jack Halford. The letter begins with Gilbert describing how a mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby mansion. The small community becomes curious about the quiet Mrs. Graham and her young son, Arthur. Over time, they become part of village life. At first, Gilbert is interested in marrying Eliza Millward, the vicar’s daughter, even though his mother believes he could find a better match. However, his interest in Eliza decreases as he learns more about Mrs. Graham. In response, Eliza spreads (and may have created) rumors about Mrs. Graham. Gilbert later believes that his friend Frederick Lawrence is trying to marry Mrs. Graham. During a chance meeting, Gilbert hits Mr. Lawrence with a whip handle, causing him to fall from his horse. Although she does not know about this, Mrs. Graham still refuses to marry Gilbert. When he accuses her of loving Mr. Lawrence, she gives him her diaries.

Part Two (Chapters 16 to 44) is taken from Helen’s diaries. In these pages, she describes her marriage to Arthur Huntingdon, a man who is handsome and witty but also spoiled, selfish, and wasteful. Before marrying Helen, Huntingdon flirts with Annabella Wilmot, using this to manipulate Helen into marrying him. Helen, who is in love, agrees to marry him and hopes to change him through kindness and good behavior. After their son, also named Arthur, is born, Huntingdon becomes jealous of the child and Helen’s attention.

Huntingdon’s friends often have wild, drunken parties at their home, Grassdale, where people behave poorly. Annabella, now Lady Lowborough, is shown to be unfaithful to her husband. Walter Hargrave, the brother of Helen’s friend Milicent Hargrave, tries to win Helen’s favor. Though not as wild as others, he is unsettling to Helen. Mr. Hargrave tells Helen about Huntingdon’s affair with Lady Lowborough. After his friends leave, Huntingdon openly mourns his lover and insults Helen, but refuses to grant her a divorce.

Huntingdon’s influence on their son—encouraging him to drink and swear—makes Helen decide to leave to protect her child. She plans to escape, but her husband discovers her plan through her diary and burns her tools, which she had hoped to use to support herself. With help from her brother, Mr. Lawrence, and her servant, Rachel, Helen flees and finds shelter at Wildfell Hall.

Part Three (Chapters 45 to 53) continues Gilbert’s letter to Mr. Halford after reading Helen’s diaries. Helen tells Gilbert that she cannot marry him because she is not free to do so. He agrees and later learns that she has returned to Grassdale because her husband is very sick. Helen tries to care for him, but Huntingdon’s death is painful because he is terrified of what comes next. Helen cannot comfort him, as he refuses to take responsibility for his actions and wants her to join him in seeking forgiveness.

A year later, Gilbert follows a rumor that Helen is about to marry. Instead, he finds that Mr. Lawrence, now his friend, is marrying Helen’s friend, Esther Hargrave. Gilbert visits Grassdale and learns that the wealth originally belonged to Helen, as Huntingdon had no money. She now lives at her estate in Staningley. When he travels there, he meets Helen, her aunt, and young Arthur. The two reconcile and marry.

Characters

• Helen "Nell" Huntingdon (née Lawrence), also known as Helen Graham (Graham is her mother's maiden name), is the main character of the novel and the tenant of the title. She and her brother, Frederick, were born at Wildfell Hall. After their mother's death, Helen moves to live with her aunt and uncle at Staningley Manor, while Frederick stays with their father. Despite being separated, Helen remains close to her brother, who later helps her escape from her abusive husband. Helen's character may have been inspired by Anna Isabella Milbanke, the wife of Lord Byron. Like Anna, Helen initially believed it was her duty to change her husband's behavior. Even after becoming disappointed, both women kept their Universalist faith.

• Master Arthur Huntingdon, five years old at the beginning of the book, is the son of Arthur and Helen Huntingdon. He looks like his uncle, Frederick, which causes gossip. By the time Gilbert writes a letter to Jack Halford, Arthur is an adult and lives at Grassdale Manor with his wife, Helen Hattersley (the daughter of Milicent Hargrave and Ralph Hattersley).

• Mr. Maxwell, Helen's wealthy uncle, dies near the end of the novel and leaves Staningley Manor to Helen.

• Margaret "Peggy" Maxwell, Helen's aunt, warns Helen against marrying Huntingdon. She dies several years after Helen and Gilbert's marriage.

• Frederick Lawrence, Helen's brother, helps her escape from Huntingdon and gives her money. Because Helen and Frederick grew up apart and only met in Staningley or Grassdale, no one in Linden-Car village knew that the quiet Mrs. Graham was actually Frederick's sister. Eventually, Frederick marries Esther Hargrave. While mourning her husband, Helen is unable to attend her brother's wedding.

• Arthur Huntingdon, Helen's abusive and alcoholic husband, is a Byronic figure known for his charm but also for his hidden moral flaws. His mistreatment of Helen forces her to leave him. However, when Huntingdon becomes seriously ill after an accident, Helen returns to Grassdale to care for him. Despite his illness, Huntingdon continues to drink and eventually dies. He is thought to be loosely based on the author's brother, Branwell, though some critics disagree. Huntingdon and Lord Lowborough share similarities with two types of drunkards described in Robert Macnish's The Anatomy of Drunkenness.

• Annabella Wilmot, later Lady Lowborough, is Arthur Huntingdon's lover. She is flirtatious, beautiful, and bold. She has a long affair with Huntingdon, which Helen must endure. When Annabella's husband discovers the affair, he obtains a divorce. Gilbert hears rumors that Annabella later moves to the continent, becomes poor, and dies alone, but he is unsure if this is true.

• Lord Lowborough, a friend of Huntingdon and Annabella's husband, is calm but deeply devoted. He is sad, serious, and gloomy, unlike Huntingdon. He once gambled and drank heavily, and later became addicted to opium. After losing money, he reforms his life. He truly loves Annabella, and her betrayal causes him great pain. His strong faith and willpower prevent him from committing suicide. Later, he divorces Annabella and marries a plain middle-aged woman, who becomes a good wife and stepmother to his children with Annabella—a son and a daughter (who is implied to be Huntingdon's). Lord Lowborough also shares some traits with Branwell, such as a life of excess, moments of regret, and a struggle with addiction.

• Ralph Hattersley, a friend of Huntingdon, marries Milicent Hargrave because he wants a wife who will not argue with him. He treats Milicent poorly, saying, "I sometimes think she has no feeling at all; and then I go on until she cries – and that satisfies me." After he reforms, he becomes a kind husband and father.

• Mr. Grimsby, another of Arthur's friends, is a man who dislikes women. He helps Arthur hide his affair with Annabella.

• Gilbert Markham, a 24-year-old farmer, is the main storyteller of the novel. He starts off jealous and angry but grows morally stronger and proves himself worthy of Helen.

• Fergus Markham, Gilbert's 17-year-old brother, is lively but lazy and often tries (but fails) to be clever.

• Rose Markham, a 19-year-old girl, is Gilbert's younger sister and a friend of the Millward sisters. She marries Jack Halford, to whom Gilbert tells the story of events that happened 20 years earlier.

• Mrs. Markham, Gilbert's mother, greatly admires the Reverend Millward and his ideas.

• Jane Wilson, a friend of Eliza Millward and a gossip, tries to court Frederick Lawrence. When Gilbert tells her she dislikes Frederick's sister, Helen, Frederick ends their relationship. Jane moves to a nearby town, where she constantly talks about herself but remains lonely and becomes a bitter spinster.

• Richard Wilson, Jane's brother, takes over the vicarage of Lindenhope after the Reverend Millward and eventually marries his daughter, Mary.

• Robert Wilson, Jane and Richard's brother, is a rough farmer. Jane is ashamed of him, but others think he is kind and pleasant. He eventually marries, and Jane leaves the family home because she cannot stand him or his wife.

• Mrs. Wilson, the mother of Jane, Richard, and Robert, is a gossip like her daughter.

• Eliza Millward, the daughter of the vicar and a friend of Jane Wilson, is a gossip. Gilbert has a half-serious flirtation with her before meeting Helen.

• Mary Millward, Eliza's older sister, is a plain, quiet, and sensible girl. She is trusted by her father and loved by children and poor people, but she is often ignored by others.

• The Reverend Michael Millward, Eliza's and Mary's father, is a man with strong beliefs and habits. He dislikes anyone who disagrees with him.

• Walter Hargrave, a friend of Arthur Huntingdon, is a man who admires Helen while she is still married to Huntingdon. He is a cousin of Annabella Wilmot.

• Milicent Hargrave, a quiet woman who married Ralph Hattersley against her will, is Walter's sister and Helen's close friend. Unlike Helen, who is bold and speaks openly, Milicent is treated poorly by her husband. Helen eventually leaves Huntingdon with her son, while Milicent says she is "really contented" with her husband and "would not

Timeline

The story begins in 1847 but goes back in time to the years between 1821 and 1830 before returning to the present.

• Arthur Huntingdon is born in 1792 or 1793.
• Helen Lawrence is born at Wildfell Hall in 1802 or 1803. Gilbert Markham is born the same year.
• In 1821, Helen starts her diary on June 1. She returns from her first season in London, where she met Arthur Huntingdon. Helen and Arthur Huntingdon get married on December 20.
• In 1822, Helen writes about the birth of her son, Arthur, on December 5.
• In 1824, Helen tells about Arthur Huntingdon’s relationship with Annabella on October 7.
• In 1827, Helen moves to Wildfell Hall with Rachel and her young son, Arthur, on October 24.
• In 1828, Helen returns to Grassdale to care for Arthur Huntingdon on November 4. Arthur Huntingdon dies on December 5.
• In 1830, Gilbert and Helen get married in August.
• In 1847, Gilbert finishes his letter to Jack Halford and the story ends on June 10.

Themes

Arthur Huntingdon and many of his male friends drink heavily. Lord Lowborough drinks because he tries to deal with his personal problems. Arthur, like his friend Ralph Hattersley, drinks too much because he enjoyed drinking when he was young. Only Ralph Hattersley and Lord Lowborough manage to stop drinking. Arthur and Lord Lowborough show signs of alcoholism, such as drinking until they cannot think clearly and then drinking again when they wake up. Lord Lowborough realizes he has a problem and uses strong willpower to stop drinking. Arthur continues drinking even after he hurts himself while falling from a horse, which eventually causes his death. Ralph drinks heavily with his friends but seems more affected by his lifestyle than by alcoholism. Mr. Grimsby continues to behave badly and dies in a fight. Arthur becomes fond of alcohol because of his father, but Helen adds a small amount of a substance to his wine that makes him feel sick and sad without making him physically ill. Soon, the smell of alcohol alone makes Arthur feel ill.

Marianne Thormählen notes that when Marianne tells Ralph, her drunk and abusive husband, that they are not at home, it is one of the most upsetting moments in the novel. Thormählen argues that the book shows how traditional female submission can encourage men to act unfairly. Later, when Ralph decides to change his life, he blames his wife's quiet behavior, saying she could have stopped his violence and bad habits if she had been more resistant.

Carol N. Senf compares The Tenant to Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, noting that both novels have female stories told by men. Senf says Brontë, like Atwood, makes readers question whether true equality between men and women is possible in a society that supports inequality. Helen's silence in the novel is troubling to modern readers, though her husband, Gilbert, is kinder than a character named Pieixoto.

Priti Joshi explains that in The Tenant, the book challenges the idea that women can influence men, a belief popular in the 19th century. This idea appeared in books like Jane Eyre, where the main character gives up her dreams to manage her husband. In The Tenant, however, men are not changed by women's influence. Helen believes she can reform her husband, Arthur, but after six years, she leaves him to protect herself and their son. Her second husband, Gilbert Markham, is more willing to change but does not show improvement in the story. Joshi says Gilbert and his friend Jack Halford are moving toward a new type of masculinity by sharing feelings and learning to express emotions, which helps them become better people.

Among Arthur's friends, only Walter Hargrave never drinks heavily. He tries to win Helen's favor by pretending to be kind, but when this fails, he claims she cannot manage her life without a man's help.

Gilbert's mother, Mrs. Markham, believes it is the husband's job to please himself, and the wife's job is to please him. The story shows Helen as brave and independent, highlighting her ability to seek freedom instead of obeying men. Because of this, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is seen as a feminist novel by many critics.

Josephine McDonagh says the title The Tenant reflects the theme of displacement. Helen is a tenant, not the owner, of Wildfell Hall, a place she was born in but was left to a male relative. The book includes many references to other texts, such as the Bible and other novels. These references are used by characters to show their personalities and sometimes mix different voices. This use of "borrowed voices" may symbolize how characters like Gilbert and Helen are forced to take on roles they did not choose, such as Gilbert being forced to take over his father's farm or Helen being unable to claim her home or identity.

Until the Married Women's Property Act of 1870, women in England had no legal rights to own property, make contracts, or sue for divorce or custody of their children. As stated by Hugo Black in a court case, "This rule [coverture] has worked out in reality to mean that though the husband and wife are one, the one is the husband."

Helen is tricked by the idea of romantic love and duty into thinking she can fix her husband's behavior. Hattersley claims he wants a wife who will not interfere with his life, but he actually wants a wife who will not challenge him. Milicent marries Ralph against her will because her mother pressures her. Annabella, who is wealthy, only wants a title, while Lord Lowborough truly loves her. Jane Wilson, a social climber, seeks money.

Helen leaves her husband, breaking English law at the time, not for her own benefit but to protect her son, Arthur, from becoming like his father. She hopes to prevent him from becoming a bad man.

Stevie Davies says Anne Brontë's portrayal of Helen as an artist who earns money "trespasses" on areas traditionally controlled by men. Women were not expected to work or use tools, which were legally owned by their husbands. Melinda Maunsell believes Helen's art both reveals and hides her true self. Her artwork gives her a way to express herself within her society while also offering her a chance to earn money, which was rare for women at the time.

Nicole A. Diederich argues that in The Tenant, Anne Brontë shows how marriage and remarriage limit Helen's rights and talents. Helen's ability to paint is central to her relationships with both Gilbert and Arthur. Her freedom to paint and her inability to do so on her own terms complicate how she is seen as a wife, widow, and artist. This also allows Brontë to criticize the traditional roles assigned to women through marriage and remarriage.

At the beginning of her diary, young and unmarried Helen describes herself as an artist. Her early drawings show her true feelings for Arthur Huntingdon, which lead her to overlook his flaws and marry him. These drawings also reveal her desire to express herself through art. Her artwork defines her as an artist, even as it reflects her personal desires.

Style and narrative

Anne Brontë did not write in the Romantic style like her older sisters. Instead, she used Realism in her two novels. Some critics, including her sister Charlotte, thought her descriptions of alcoholism and adultery were too detailed and disturbing. Anne explained her reasons for writing in the preface of the second edition of her novel.

When writing about similar topics as her sisters, Anne often showed them in different ways. For example, in Wildfell Hall, she described an old, worn-out mansion not as a "haunted" house like Thornfield Hall or Wuthering Heights in her sisters' works. Instead, she portrayed it as a decaying symbol of a fading aristocratic class. Stevie Davies said that Anne's description of the house reduced the Gothic style. Wildfell Hall is not haunted; it is simply old, damp, and unwelcoming.

Anne's character Arthur Huntingdon does not fit the image of a Byronic hero. While he is witty, adventurous, and handsome, he lacks intelligence or energy, unlike characters like Heathcliff or Rochester. His bad habits come from being spoiled as a child. Anne showed how a lack of reason among men, caused by a culture that values strength over kindness, leads to destructive outcomes. Arthur Huntingdon becomes completely dependent on his wife during his final illness and loses his identity.

Caroline Franklin said Anne used the Byronic style "not to titillate, but to shock" to protest against spousal abuse. Helen Graham, the main character, may have been inspired by Anna Isabella Milbanke, Lord Byron's wife. Like Helen, Anna Isabella tried to improve her husband's behavior but later separated from him and raised their child alone. She still believed in his eventual redemption.

In The Tenant, vice is not only found in men. Lady Lowborough's affair deeply harms her husband, and Eliza Millward's harmful actions affect the community. The story uses many biblical references to highlight the struggle between good and evil. Those who repent and listen to reason are shown to be forgiven, while those who refuse to change often face harsh consequences.

Stevie Davies believes the settings and characters in The Tenant were influenced by Anne's childhood stories. As children, Emily and Anne Brontë created an imaginary kingdom called Gondal, where they wrote stories and poems. Thomas Moore's biography of Lord Byron, which described his wild behavior, influenced Gondal and later appeared in Anne's adult works. Characters like Arthur Huntingdon and Annabella Wilmot, who make selfish choices, may have roots in Gondal's stories of extravagant heroes.

Four houses in the Brontë sisters' novels have the initials "W. H.": Wellwood House in Agnes Grey, Wuthering Heights, and Wildfell Hall and Woodford Hall in The Tenant. The original "Ur-hall" in Gondal may have inspired Wuthering Heights and Wildfell Hall. Based on this, Davies says Charlotte Brontë's claim that Anne disliked writing The Tenant is unlikely.

Even though Anne avoided Gothic themes, The Tenant uses a narrative structure common to Gothic fiction, such as a framing narrator, letters, and diaries to reveal hidden truths. However, the narrator, Gilbert Markham, differs from Gothic predecessors because he and the society he represents are partly responsible for the harsh realities he discovers. Chapters written in Helen's diary follow her style and differ from Gilbert's story, which comes from his own diary. This strict use of diaries may be seen as a "testimony of experience." Writing diaries has been a popular way to record personal thoughts since the Renaissance.

Naomi Jacobs said the shift from a framing narrator to inner narration is central to the novel. This structure challenges readers to question familiar ideas and see the world differently. The differences in tone and perspective between the two narrators are important to the story's purpose. Like Wuthering Heights, The Tenant reveals the harsh truths of private life through a framing narrator. Jacobs said the male narrator represents the public world, and the framed structure highlights how domestic life is hidden by traditional beliefs. It also shows the cultural divide between male and female roles, which contributes to the novel's tragedy. Jacobs concluded that Emily and Anne used a male narrator to question controversial topics, using his voice to challenge patriarchal views before sharing their anti-patriarchal messages.

Carol A. Senf said the unique structure of The Tenant, where a wife's story is framed by her husband's, encourages readers to think about gender roles. Tess O'Toole noted that the story's structure highlights the differences between two forms of domestic life: one from marriage and one from family origins. Priti Joshi said the characters' reliance on writing over spoken words makes diaries a fitting narrative choice.

Josephine McDonagh believed some of The Tenant's style may have been influenced by the writing culture of Anne's time. For example, Anne's careful use of different narrators' voices is similar to how magazines kept individual contributors' voices distinct. The novel's complex structure is created through direct speech. Gilbert's letter includes Helen's diary, and Helen's diary includes Arthur's memories.

Genre

Anne Brontë begins her novel in a style similar to Jane Austen’s, using a humorous and social approach. Like Pride and Prejudice, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall opens with the arrival of a new person in a small rural community, causing curiosity among the neighbors. However, unlike Austen, Brontë focuses on a woman as the central figure. Mrs. Graham, who holds strong opinions about alcohol and girls’ education—ideas that were controversial in the 19th century—quickly becomes an outsider in her community.

Tess O’Toole describes The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as an unusual example of 19th-century domestic fiction, explaining why the novel is less well-known compared to the works of Brontë’s sisters. O’Toole notes that Anne Brontë does not blend family and romantic relationships in the same way as her older sisters. Instead, the relationship between Frederick and Helen is shown as separate and unable to fully resolve the challenges of family life.

After leaving her husband, Helen returns to her family home and adopts her mother’s maiden name as her new identity. The bond between Helen and Frederick, who were separated during childhood and reunited as adults, is highlighted as a model for improving family life. Frederick’s kindness helps make up for their father’s neglect of Helen, and their respectful relationship contrasts with Helen’s troubled marriage and her connection with another man.

In the third chapter, the novel shifts to a more serious tone, focusing on ideas. Helen engages in a powerful discussion about virtue, experience, and choices, challenging the unequal education of boys and girls.

The novel’s criticism of men who act without moral limits may be influenced by the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft. Priti Joshi believes Anne Brontë read Wollstonecraft’s works and disagreed with both Wollstonecraft’s harsh view of women and Hannah More’s praise of them. Joshi explains that Anne Brontë’s feminism finds a balance between these two extremes. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, a better version of masculinity emerges not through a woman’s guidance, but by learning from feminine qualities. Joshi also points out that the gossip shared by villagers in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is not meant to criticize behavior, but to highlight the differences between the warm, community-focused lives of middle-class villagers and the cold, isolated lives of the upper class.

The main characters in the novel are misled not by rumors, but by what they see with their own eyes. Gilbert, for example, sees Helen walking with Frederick and wrongly assumes they are lovers. Helen’s belief in what she sees and her decision to write about her problems in a diary—her “best friend” for private conversations—leads to problems when her husband takes the diary and reads it.

Criticism

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenged the common beliefs of the Victorian era. One shocking moment was when Helen shut her bedroom door in the face of her husband after he continued to hurt her. Charles Kingsley, in a review for Fraser's Magazine, wrote: "A people's novel of a very different school is The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It is, taken altogether, a powerful and an interesting book. Not that it is a pleasant book to read, nor, as we fancy, has it been a pleasant book to write; still less has it been a pleasant training which could teach an author such awful facts, or give courage to write them. The fault of the book is coarseness—not merely that coarseness of subject which will be the stumbling-block of most readers, and which makes it utterly unfit to be put into the hands of girls …" Despite this, he believed that: "[English] society owes thanks, not sneers, to those who dare to shew her the image of her own ugly, hypocritical visage".

The Spectator wrote: "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, like its predecessor [Jane Eyre], suggests the idea of considerable abilities ill applied. There is power, effect, and even nature, though of an extreme kind, in its pages; but there seems in the writer a morbid love for the coarse, not to say the brutal; so that his level subjects are not very attractive, and the more forcible are displeasing or repulsive, from their gross, physical, or profligate substratum. He might reply, that such things are in life… Mere existence, however, as we have often had occasion to remark, is not a sufficient reason for a choice of subject: its general or typical character is a point to consider, and its power of pleasing must be regarded, as well as its mere capabilities of force or effect. It is not only the subject of this novel, however, that is objectionable, but the manner of treating it. There is a coarseness of tone throughout the writing of all these Bells [Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë], that puts an offensive subject in its worst point of view, and which generally contrives to dash indifferent things".

A critic in The Athenaeum, probably H. F. Chorley, cited The Tenant as "the most entertaining novel we have read in a month past". However, he warned the authors, having in mind all the novels from Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell published by 1848, "against their fancy for dwelling upon what is disagreeable".

The Examiner, while praising all Brontës as "a hardy race", who "do not lounge in drawing-rooms or boudoirs", and "not common-place writers", considered The Tenant's frame structure "a fatal error: for, after so long and minute a history [of Helen's marriage to Arthur], we cannot go back and recover the enthusiasm which we have been obliged to dismiss a volume and half before". The gossiping of the inhabitants of Linden-Car village reminded it of Jane Austen's style, but "with less of that particular quality which her dialogues invariably possessed". Considering the novel's structure as "faulty", Examiner concludes that "it is scarcely possible to analyze [the novel]".

An American magazine Literature World, believing all the novels by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell were produced by the same person, praised their author as a genius, who can make "his incongruities appear natural". Noting, that "all that is good or attractive about [the male characters in The Tenant] is or might be womanish" it supposes that the author may be "some gifted and retired woman". Despite considering The Tenant "infinitely inferior" to Jane Eyre, Literature World admits that the two novels share "the same mysterious word-painting" with which the author "conveys the scene he (or she) describes to the mind's eye, so as not only to impress it with the mere view, but to speak, as it were, to the imagination, to the inner sense, as is ever the case with the Poetry as the Painting of real genius". Again having in mind both Jane Eyre and The Tenant, it concludes: "However objectionable these works may be to crude minds which cannot winnow the chaff vulgarity from the rich grain of genius which burdens them, very many, while enjoying the freshness and vigour, will gladly hail their appearance, as boldly and eloquently developing blind places of wayward passion in the human heart, which is far more interesting to trace than all bustling traces and murky alleys, through which the will-o'-the-wisp genius of Dickens has so long led the public mind".

Edwin Percy Whipple from North American Review considered The Tenant "less unpleasant" than Wuthering Heights. However, both novels, in his opinion, were constructed with an "excessive clumsiness" and "the brutal element of human nature" was equally "given prominence" in them. He continues: "[The Tenant] seems a convincing proof, that there is nothing kindly in [this]author's powerful mind, and that, if he continues to write novels, he will introduce into the land of romance a larger number of hateful men and women than any other author of the day". In Gilbert he sees "nothing good, except rude honesty", and while acknowledging Helen's "strong-mindedness", he finds no "lovable or feminine virtues". Despite this, Whipple praised novels characterization: "All the characters are drawn with great power and precision of outline, and the scenes are vivid as the life itself." Helen's marriage to Arthur he sees as "a reversal of the process carried on in Jane Eyre", but Arthur Huntingdon, in his opinion, is "no Rochester". "He is never virtuously inclined, except in those periods of illness and feebleness which his debaucheries have occasioned". Whipple concludes: "The reader of Acton Bell gains no enlarged view of mankind, giving a healthy action to his sympathies, but is confined to a narrow space of life, and held down, as it were, by main force, to witness the wolfish side of his nature literally and logically set forth. But the criminal courts are not the places in which to take a comprehensive view of humanity and the novelist who confines his observation to them is not likely to produce any lasting impression except of horror and disgust".

Sharpe's London Magazine, believing "despite reports to the contrary" that "[no] woman could have written such a work", warned its readers, especially ladies, against reading The Tenant. While acknowledging "the powerful interest of the story", "the talent with which it is written" and an "excellent moral", it argued that "like the fatal melody of the Syren's song, its very perfections render it more dangerous, and therefore more carefully to be avoided". In Sharpe's opinion, the novel's "evils which render the work unfit for perusal" arose from "a perverted taste and an absence of mental refinement in the writer, together with a total ignorance of the usages of good society". It argues that the scenes of debauchery "are described with a disgustingly truthful minuteness, which shows the writer to be only too well acquainted with the revolting details of such evil revelry" and considers it a final "proof of the unreadableness of these volumes". Helen's belief in Universal salvation was also castigated: "The dangerous tendency of such a belief must be apparent to any one who gives the subject a moment's consideration; and it becomes scarcely necessary, in order to convince our readers of the madness of trusting to such a forced distortion of the Divine attribute of mercy, to add that this doctrine is alike repugnant to Scripture, and in direct opposition to the teaching of the Anglican Church ".

The Rambler, arguing that Jane Eyre and The Tenant were written by the same person, stated that the latter is "not so bad a book as Jane Eyre", which it believed to be "one of the coarsest of the books we ever perused". The Reverend Michael Millward was considered by Rambler as "one of the least disagreeable individuals" in the novel, while Helen's Universalist views were criticised as either "false and bad" or "vague and unmeaning

Mutilated text

Although the publishers honored Charlotte's wishes, shortly before her death in 1854, the London firm Thomas Hodgson released a one-volume edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Hodgson made many changes to the novel, removing sections such as the chapter headings and the opening letter that begins with: "To J. Halford, Esq. Dear Halford, When we were together last…" Other changes included deleting single words or entire chapters, such as the 28th chapter. Some parts of the book were rearranged to address the missing content. Most later English editions, including those published by Charlotte's original publisher, Smith, Elder & Co., followed this altered version. These editions are still common today, even though their covers claim they are complete and uncut. In 1992, Oxford University Press released the Clarendon Edition, which is based on the first edition of the novel but includes the preface and corrections from the second edition.

Adaptations

Ten episodes were broadcast from 28 November to 9 December 2011 on BBC Radio 4. Hattie Morahan played Helen, Robert Lonsdale played Gilbert, and Leo Bill played Arthur.

The novel was adapted for television by the BBC twice. The first adaptation was produced in 1968 and featured Janet Munro, Corin Redgrave, and Bryan Marshall. The second adaptation, produced in 1996, starred Tara Fitzgerald, Toby Stephens, Rupert Graves, and James Purefoy.

The novel was adapted into a three-act opera at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Garrett Hope composed the music, and Steven Soebbing wrote the libretto.

The University of British Columbia produced an adaptation of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in October 2015. Jacqueline Firkins adapted the work, and Sarah Rogers directed it.

In 2017, the novel was adapted by Deborah McAndrew and directed by Elizabeth Newman. The production premiered at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton and later moved to York Theatre Royal.

The 2022 adaptation by Emme Hoy premiered at Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on 21 June. Jessica Arthur directed the production.

Cultural references and legacy

The novel is the first known source of the phrase "tied to the apron string(s)," which means being overly connected to or controlled by a wife or mother. This meaning comes from an earlier use of the term "apron-string" to describe property owned by a husband through his wife's rights.

In the Downton Abbey Christmas special from 2011, the book The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is performed as part of a Christmas party game by Lady Mary Crawley.

Tina Connolly's 2013 novel Copperhead was inspired by The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The main character in the novel is named Helen Huntingdon, and she experiences a difficult and unhappy marriage.

Sam Baker's 2016 novel The Woman Who Ran is a modern version of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It takes ideas from the strong themes in Anne Brontë's book. The main character is a woman named Helen who hides from her past, which includes an abusive marriage, in a village in present-day Yorkshire.

In the 2018 film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the main character Juliet Ashton (played by Lily James) discusses the importance of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. She says, "In Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë showed how power was unfairly shared between men and women in the strict rules of Victorian marriage."