The mood of The Tenant of Wildfell is, overall, quite bleak and depressing. Helen is trapped in an abusive marriage for much of the novel, writing in horrid detail the types of violence and manipulation she faces daily at the hands of her husband Arthur. The following passage from Chapter 40 captures Arthur’s cruelty and Helen’s terror:
Mr Huntingdon then went upstairs. I did not attempt to follow him; but remained seated in the arm chair, speechless, tearless, and almost motionless, till he returned about half an hour after, and walking up to me, held the candle in my face and peered into my eyes with looks and laughter too insulting to be borne.
In this scene—that comes after Arthur reads Helen’s diary, learns about her plans to leave him, and burns all of her art supplies so she cannot earn income via her art—Arthur laughs in Helen’s face while she sits in a chair “speechless, tearless, and almost motionless.” The mood of this moment is terrifying and disturbing, as readers realize that Arthur’s cruelty extends further than they knew.
That said, there are moments of reprieve when the mood is more light-hearted. For example, in the chapter following the burning of Helen's art supplies, Arthur leaves Grassdale Manor to have one of his many debaucherous extended stays in London, and Helen is happier:
Having now got rid of Mr Huntingdon for a season, my spirits begin to revive. He left me early in February; and the moment he was gone, I breathed again, and felt my vital energy return; not with the hope of escape – he has taken care to leave me no visible chance of that – but with a determination to make the best of existing circumstances.
The end of the novel is also joyful, as Helen ends up inheriting her aunt and uncle’s estate—making her independently wealthy—and becoming engaged to Gilbert. Most of the moral minor characters end up happy as well.
The mood of The Tenant of Wildfell is, overall, quite bleak and depressing. Helen is trapped in an abusive marriage for much of the novel, writing in horrid detail the types of violence and manipulation she faces daily at the hands of her husband Arthur. The following passage from Chapter 40 captures Arthur’s cruelty and Helen’s terror:
Mr Huntingdon then went upstairs. I did not attempt to follow him; but remained seated in the arm chair, speechless, tearless, and almost motionless, till he returned about half an hour after, and walking up to me, held the candle in my face and peered into my eyes with looks and laughter too insulting to be borne.
In this scene—that comes after Arthur reads Helen’s diary, learns about her plans to leave him, and burns all of her art supplies so she cannot earn income via her art—Arthur laughs in Helen’s face while she sits in a chair “speechless, tearless, and almost motionless.” The mood of this moment is terrifying and disturbing, as readers realize that Arthur’s cruelty extends further than they knew.
That said, there are moments of reprieve when the mood is more light-hearted. For example, in the chapter following the burning of Helen's art supplies, Arthur leaves Grassdale Manor to have one of his many debaucherous extended stays in London, and Helen is happier:
Having now got rid of Mr Huntingdon for a season, my spirits begin to revive. He left me early in February; and the moment he was gone, I breathed again, and felt my vital energy return; not with the hope of escape – he has taken care to leave me no visible chance of that – but with a determination to make the best of existing circumstances.
The end of the novel is also joyful, as Helen ends up inheriting her aunt and uncle’s estate—making her independently wealthy—and becoming engaged to Gilbert. Most of the moral minor characters end up happy as well.
