In her nineteenth century novel, Villette, Charlotte Bronte makes a point of utilizing several different spaces for her setting. Although each is different from the others, they are all similarly homes or places in which someone can be housed. For instance, the story begins in Bretton, at the home of Mrs. Bretton. Lucy lives here for some time, until she finally moves on to work for an elderly woman, Miss Marchmont. Finally, Lucy finds herself as a teacher at a boarding school in Villette. Though Lucy always physically occupies a home-like setting throughout the novel, I do not feel as if these physical homes are meant to be “innocent” spaces for her, as Kate Ferguson alludes to. Rather, in treating the settings in the way that she does, I
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If that is the case, then Madame Beck’s actions must be closely explored. As a means of so-called “protection”, Madame Beck spends a good amount of time practicing “surveillance” and “espionage” (89). Bronte uses Madame Beck as an example of what not to do. Much like Lucy, Madame Beck spends a lot of her time observing others. It can be argued that, yes, in her situation in which she is the main caregiver in charge of almost two hundred young girls, her practices are at least excusable if not wholly necessary. However, what I think Bronte is attempting to express through Madame Beck is that while surveillance is sometimes a necessary evil, it should not be your only way of life. Living in that way will not leave any time for you to learn about yourself. For instance, Madame Beck does not necessarily live this way because she wants to but because she is required to, for the sake of her students. Yet, Lucy in the grand scheme of things does not have to live this way. The only person Lucy is responsible for is herself. Therefore, Bronte must be saying that observation without a purpose, such as to gain information or protect someone, is essentially worthless because it offers you no information about yourself and in turn makes it more difficult to know
If that is the case, then Madame Beck’s actions must be closely explored. As a means of so-called “protection”, Madame Beck spends a good amount of time practicing “surveillance” and “espionage” (89). Bronte uses Madame Beck as an example of what not to do. Much like Lucy, Madame Beck spends a lot of her time observing others. It can be argued that, yes, in her situation in which she is the main caregiver in charge of almost two hundred young girls, her practices are at least excusable if not wholly necessary. However, what I think Bronte is attempting to express through Madame Beck is that while surveillance is sometimes a necessary evil, it should not be your only way of life. Living in that way will not leave any time for you to learn about yourself. For instance, Madame Beck does not necessarily live this way because she wants to but because she is required to, for the sake of her students. Yet, Lucy in the grand scheme of things does not have to live this way. The only person Lucy is responsible for is herself. Therefore, Bronte must be saying that observation without a purpose, such as to gain information or protect someone, is essentially worthless because it offers you no information about yourself and in turn makes it more difficult to know