Beyond the Ideal: Anne Brontë's Realistic Feminism

Abstract

This article offers a fresh perspective on Anne Brontë's feminist stance in her novels The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey. While previous scholars have criticized Brontë's portrayal of her female protagonists in a manner that contradicts her feminist message, this article argues that Brontë's nuanced portrayal of the complexities of female subjectivity within the social, cultural, and historical constraints of her time is essential to her feminist stance. Anne Brontë empowers her female characters with realistic feminine tools to cope with the patriarchal suppression they face and calls for a rethinking of the miserable situation of women in the Victorian patriarchal society. The article argues that Brontë's aim is not to call for an impossible revolution through an ideal feminine figure but rather to promote action based on the reality of the situation. This article's originality lies in its fresh and sophisticated interpretation of Brontë's feminist stance that avoids reducing her characters to mere symbols of resistance and acknowledges the complexities of female subjectivity in a patriarchal society.