Villette

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1853

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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “Bretton”

The novel opens in the fall with Lucy Snowe, the protagonist, narrating in the first person. She is staying with her widowed godmother at Bretton, a place she has fond memories of visiting as a child. The widow brought Lucy to her home as she detected impending distress in Lucy’s family that she felt the child should not be around. The home has been in the family for generations. Mrs. Bretton became a widow at a young age when her husband Dr. Bretton died. She has one son, John Graham Bretton. Mrs. Bretton is a lovely woman and her son is handsome. Lucy finds her time with the widow peaceful.

A mysterious letter arrives to announce a visitor, and Lucy finds that her room has been changed to accommodate a small child. The little girl who is coming to stay with Mrs. Bretton is the daughter of a friend of the late Dr. Bretton, a Mr. Home, and will be Lucy’s companion. The girl’s mother died from illness after abandoning her family, and the girl’s father cannot care for her in his grief and is taking a trip to recover.

The little girl, called Paulina Mary or “Polly,” arrives during a stormy night with her nurse, Harriet. She is small even for her age but speaks like an adult. Polly is sad and misses her father. Polly learns she will share a room with Lucy. The next morning it appears Polly has not slept at all. Polly dresses and calls for Harriet. Polly is demanding and does not like Lucy. Polly does not eat breakfast. John Graham Bretton is away visiting a friend.

Chapter 2 Summary: “Paulina”

Polly is unhappy. This concerns Lucy, who says, “She seemed growing old and unearthly” (15). Lucy often finds Polly praying as if to her father.

One day Mrs. Bretton encourages Polly to look outside in hopes it will cheer her up, and as Polly does, she sees her father: He was leaving town and says he could not go without seeing her. Polly is overjoyed at his appearance, which Lucy, who sees herself as someone who does not experience extreme emotion, finds strange. As they all have tea, Polly wants to be near her father at all times. She begins to sew him a handkerchief.

John Graham, or Graham,” returns and dines with everyone. Polly sits on a highchair and sews while they eat. Graham is 16 and handsome, with red hair and blue eyes. Graham introduces himself to Polly, speaking to her as if she were a lady. Polly is shy. He suggests she should already be in bed, and when he lifts her to carry her, she is embarrassed.

Chapter 3 Summary: “The Playmates”

Mr. Home stays at Bretton for two days but does not leave the house. He is sad and depressed. Graham attends school during the day but in the evening teases Polly.

Mr. Home is emotional the day he leaves, but Polly does not cry. She takes to Graham for comfort, and the two become close. Polly is sad and quiet during the daytime when Graham is at school. When he comes home, her entire personality changes. Polly speaks to him and treats him as if she were his mother. She serves him tea and learns the names of all his friends and teachers. Lucy finds the behavior odd due to the extreme age difference between the two. Polly is just six.

Soon Polly’s father sends word that he has decided not to return to England and wants Polly to join him. When Lucy delivers the news, she “[finds] [Polly] seated, like a little Odalisque, on a couch, half shaded by the drooping draperies of the window near” (38). Polly is sad to leave and even more sad that her departure doesn’t seem to upset Graham. Polly cries and refuses to sleep the night before leaving, and Lucy comforts her so that she can rest. Polly leaves without crying.

Chapters 1-3 Analysis

Lucy Snowe, the protagonist and narrator, opens the novel with an authoritative voice, setting the scene: a peaceful, provincial English town that has become a special place to her over the years. However, Lucy’s tone feels distant and detached. Lucy is not so much a guest in the home as she is a fixture, and the other characters move around her, barely acknowledging her presence. Lucy is not bothered by the silence; in fact, she mentions that she enjoys the serenity and uneventfulness of the manor, implying that her life has not been so peaceful in the past. Lucy says her godmother removed her from her home because of some foreboding circumstances, but she never specifically identifies them.

The quiet reverie of Bretton is broken by the arrival of a letter, a storm, and then a child. The author employs pathetic fallacy in the weather the night Paulina arrives. The chaos and confusion of the tempest mimic Lucy’s mood as this unknown visitor arrives.

Polly is a curious child physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Lucy describes her as quite small for her age and her physical attributes as doll-like. Yet, Polly behaves like an adult in all other ways. She is serious, morose, and hyper- religious. Lucy struggles to understand these behaviors, as she considers herself to be impassive, and when Polly reunites with her father, Lucy watches their interactions with detachment. Though Lucy has revealed nothing about her past, the author signals that Lucy has not learned properly how to emote. Something in her childhood has stunted her emotional growth, and she is now indifferent and almost cold.

Though Polly is expressive and sensitive, she also has familial trauma. Lack of maternal guidance has left her solely dependent on the love and admiration of her father and thus too eager for the attention of men. When her father leaves, she attaches herself to the next available male, Graham Bretton, a waggish and handsome teenage boy. The banter between the two is strange and perhaps inappropriate to modern eyes. Graham flirts with Polly, and she in turn speaks to him as his mother. Lucy is the only one in the home who appears to notice the strange relationship. In these interactions, the author gives the reader a clear sense of familial and gender roles in the 19th century. Children are sent away from their parents for extended periods with no thought to the emotional trauma it may cause. Women learn at an early age that their place in the household structure is to serve the men. Polly, in her friendship with Graham, is acting like a little mother or wife, her sense of play warped and misdirected. Lucy, though outwardly ignored by everyone (including Graham), is not impartial but keeps her judgments to herself.

Lucy’s austere mood shifts slightly when she learns that Polly will leave to rejoin her father. Lucy comforts Polly when Graham barely acknowledges her departure. In describing Polly in this moment, Lucy describes her as “Odalisque”—an allusion to a (usually nude) statue of a female slave or harem resident. The juxtaposition of this allusion with a child is arresting, suggesting that Polly, though just a young girl, has become another disposable female whose value depends on her ability to please a man. Graham toys with Polly for his momentary entertainment, paying no heed to her emotional needs or the pain she endured before coming to Bretton. Women of this era were not allowed to participate in politics or (in many cases) household decisions; public displays of intense emotion were also suspect and frequently pathologized as signs of mental illness. Thus, the author ends the chapter with Polly concealing her tears publicly, only weeping in Lucy’s arms privately.