Devoir de Philosophie

Analyse Villette -Brontë chapitre 12

Publié le 18/09/2013

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Chapter XII « The casket « Summary : The chapter 12 opens with legend of a nun buried alive in the garden when Madame Beck's house was a convent. Lucy, who was a believer in supernatural tales, thinks she can detect the stone under an old tree. Lucy goes well in her job as English teacher, but she wants to be free. One night during a storm, all the Catholic girls lie awake praying, but Lucy enjoy the wet and wind of the tempest. She makes efforts in her daily life, to keep hopes for the future, because she believes that it will disappointed her. One evenings Lucy walks in the garden, especially in l'allée défendue that she has called her own. / One night she intercepts a small ivory box on the ground. It is addressed to someone with a "grey dress", which Lucy is wearing at that moment. But Lucy is not expecting a love letter. The ivory casket contains violets and a love letter, but Lucy doesn't know to whom it is addressed or who the writer is. At that moment Dr. John arrives and is let in by Rosine, the portresse. Lucy notices, that Rosine wears a grey dress. Dr. John runs i...

« Lucy has a better opinion of Dr John because she compares him to a leopard whereas she compares Mme Beck with a cat, which is smaller and less impressive. Detailed notes on how the central themes of the novel are developed in this chapter : Religion is once more a central theme in this chapter, Lucy is always talking about the Catholics praying (p.107 and 109) and also she is talking about Sisera and Heber, people from the Bible (p.

110).

We learn in this chapter that “all the pupils….from childhood” (p.111).

Lucy is now not alone (compared to chapter V), she is with Mme Beck, the children, and Dr.

John.

For the first time in part I, Lucy finds something about love, a billet-doux, but it’s not for her, in a way, it’s a bit unlucky for her to find a love letter not addressed to her.

At the end of the chapter, we can also see a real friendship between Lucy and Mme Beck “Bon soir, ma bonne amie;….night” (p.115).

Analysis : Extract: end of page 110 to middle of page 111 . Lucy says “ A thing I had heard of”, talking about billets-doux and adds ironically “ I had not the honour of seeing or handling” p111.

It shows that she doesn’t really know something at the game of love = she’s candid and she has never got courted herself .

She says ironically that” suitor and admirer are not conceived” and she says th at she’s not dreaming about it at all = she’s not interested in those kind of things.

It might be an indirect criticism from charlotte Brontë’s , as if things of love are silly.

Moreover, she deffers herself from the other when she says “all the teachers have dreams of some lover” p111 and “all the pupils knew of some prospective of bridegroom” = repetition of all = she excludes herself from the “mob”, the reader can guess she likes to differ from her fellows.

She is curious to know something about this billet-doux = she wants to find the secret “ my speculation”, “to intrude” She qualifies Dr John with “the young doctor’s blue eyes” , she reduces him to a role of pretty-boy, maybe because she’s hurted that he courts all the girls and women except her = She is still isolated from the others.. »

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