Villette

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1853

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Chapters 15-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 15 Summary: “The Long Vacation”

The teachers and students prepare for examinations before the summer break. Lucy has a conversation with M. Paul where they agree to be friends. He tells her he enjoyed seeing her in the play, but Lucy says she did not like it. M. Paul claims to understand Lucy better than others at the school, saying, “I know you! I know you! Other people in this house see you pass, and think that colourless shadow has gone by. As for me, I scrutinized your face once, and it sufficed” (200).

Lucy remains alone at the convent for eight weeks while the other teachers and students visit family or take vacations. Only one maid, Groton, remains. For the first few weeks Lucy must care for a disabled student, which is physically and emotionally taxing and prevents her from leaving the premises. Lucy descends into a deep depression.

When the student’s aunt takes her away, Lucy is free to leave. She takes long walks through the town, which only briefly alleviate her mental distress. Lucy becomes ill with a fever and is in bed for nine days, during which she cannot sleep; when she does drift off, she has terrifying dreams that include a shipwreck.

When she is well enough, Lucy goes to the local church. Though not Catholic, she is desperate for help. Lucy goes to the confessional and tells the priest (but not the reader) about her past. The priest is quite disturbed at her revelation, but Lucy feels better. The priest tells her she should convert and invites her to his home the next day, but she will not go. She leaves the church and gets lost in the city. A storm begins, and she is barely able to stand. Lucy loses consciousness on the steps of a large building.

Chapter 16 Summary: “Auld Lang Syne”

Lucy awakens in a grand home and realizes she recognizes all the furnishings. She thinks she is dreaming or hallucinating. Lucy knows she has to be at Rue Fossette, but all the furniture and decoration is from her godmother’s home in Bretton. She calls out and a maid gives her medicine for sleep. When she wakes again, Lucy is in another room but still recognizes all the furnishings: “Bretton! Bretton! And ten years ago shone reflected in that mirror” (218). Lucy confirms she is still in Villette by looking out the window. She sees a picture of John Graham Bretton and calls out his name. Lucy's godmother is there and asks if she knows her son John. He returns home and joins them for tea, and Lucy reveals he is Dr. John.

Lucy’s godmother now recognizes her, but John has not made the connection even after all this time at the school. Lucy reveals to the reader that she knew who Dr. John was all along but did not announce her identity because it “had not suited [her] habits of thought, or assimilated with [her] system of feeling” (226). John shares the financial trials he and his mother have endured and explains that he brought her to Villette due to her ill health. Lucy finds John attractive and kind. He tells her she must rest, and she returns to bed happy to not be alone.

Chapter 17 Summary: “La Terrasse”

La Terrasse is the name of the French chateau where the Brettons live. Lucy continues her convalescence there and enjoys the company of her godmother and Dr. John. Lucy wrangles internally with matters of faith. She thinks humans should see each other as equals and tries to avoid bitterness for all the pain God has allowed in her life. She even thinks of the angel of death, Azrael.

Throughout this time, Lucy is still weak from her illness and stays in bed most of the day. Mrs. Bretton stays with her and is a great comfort to Lucy. One day, John and Lucy converse about the event that brought her to La Terrasse. He tells her that it was the priest, Père Silas, who found her and brought her to La Terrasse. The priest followed her after her confession, as he was worried about her health. John asks if she is Catholic. Smiling Lucy says, “Not yet.” John is upset with Madame Beck for leaving Lucy alone and thinks she needs a vacation: John tells her Ginevra is traveling, and Lucy notices his love for Ginevra has not diminished. She wonders if Mrs. Bretton knows about their romance and what she would think if she knew how Ginevra treats John. Overall, Lucy is happy and at ease in her godmother’s home and John’s company.

Chapters 15-17 Analysis

Lucy’s dark season is scaffolded by three significant meetings with men, the first with M. Paul before the examinations, the second with Père Silas, and the third with John after her illness. All three conversations present Lucy with an opportunity to share a hidden part of her life, but she can surrender her shadow side only to the priest.

After passing through much of the narrative without notice, Lucy can no longer be ignored by herself and those around her. The painful secrets she has kept hidden are not only affecting her mental health but threatening her physical health as well. M. Paul, though a strident and domineering personality, takes the time to speak with Lucy as a person and tells her that he sees and understands her: M. Paul is egoistic and mercurial, but he is willing to acknowledge Lucy's humanity. In offering her the theatrical role, M. Paul even gives Lucy a chance to come out of the shadows physically and emotionally. A character in a coming-of-age story, or bildungsroman, must first come to know themself to be fully integrated into the community. Lucy is learning more about what makes her a human, and her first glimpses of this come through M. Paul’s awakening of her public self.

After the exhilarating experience of the party, the author abruptly shifts the tone. Though Lucy claims she prefers solitude, the isolation of a holiday spent completely secluded nearly breaks her. Alone with her thoughts, she is forced to confront her pain, and it tortures her day and night. With Lucy’s ghastly hallucinations, crippling anxiety, and physical deterioration, the author explores the horrors of a depressive episode and the toll it can take on the body, mind, and spirit. Lucy even considers death as a remedy for her pain. In a pivotal scene, she stumbles into a church and gives a confession to a Catholic priest. Since Lucy has previously spurned Catholicism, this moment exemplifies the depths of her anguish and desperation. Experiencing almost instantaneous relief, Lucy can emerge from her spiral long enough to stumble outside into another tempestuous storm that will fatefully deliver her to the steps of La Terrasse.

Lucy’s first waking moments in La Terrasse have her feeling as if she has fallen down a rabbit hole. The title of the chapter, “Auld Lang Syne,” symbolizes Lucy’s past returning. The phrase comes from a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns and translates to “old time since.” Lucy comes face to face with her past, and though the furnishings and decor may be the same, Lucy has profoundly changed in the years that have passed. However, the most staggering revelation is not that her godmother is living in Villette or that Dr. John is John Graham Bretton but that Lucy has known all along who he was and said nothing of it. Lucy has been reluctant to share all her secrets, but with this admission, she solidifies herself as an unreliable narrator.

Nonetheless, Lucy’s reunion with Mrs. Bretton and John is a balm to her soul and body. Her conversations with her godmother strengthen her physically and emotionally, and she rediscovers how much she respects and honors Mrs. Bretton. Dr. John finally takes notice of Lucy and speaks with her candidly about her mental health, though he offers no real help other than suggesting a vacation. His lack of knowledge reflects the inadequacy of mental health care in this era.