In this informal YouTube conversation, Michael Strong checks in with a listener (Speaker B) about their progress reading Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall up to chapter six. The dialogue weaves together several strands: (1) comparative observations that the novel feels more stable and readable than Wuthering Heights and less linguistically demanding than Jane Eyre; (2) character‑level analysis of Helen, Gilbert, their son Arthur, and the ambiguous relationship between Gilbert and Eliza, noting awkwardness, polite arguments, and hints of mystery surrounding Helen’s past; (3) discussion of the broader social fabric of the Yorkshire setting, describing a tight‑knit community with recurring figures such as the vicar’s family; (4) reflections on scenery, noting it is darker than Jane Eyre but less gloomy than Wuthering Heights; (5) speculation on the distinct literary personalities of the three Brontë sisters based on their respective novels; (6) an aside about the Brontë family’s informal world‑building games, their isolated upbringing, and the role of their brother Branwell; (7) personal anecdotes from Speaker B about his own family – a younger brother, shared interests in jiu‑jitsu/wrestling and reading, and the influence of parents versus peers, touching on the nurture‑vs‑nature debate; (8) plans to continue reading up to chapter 15 for the next session and logistical notes about meeting in Austin. The conversation is conversational, exploratory, and interspersed with personal reflections, providing insight into the listener’s interpretive lens and the broader cultural context of the Brontë works.
Chapters
Okay, so a new Brontë sister. Um, how far did you get into it?
Um, I read up till the 6th chapter.
Okay, and what do you think so far?
I think I agree with you, it's a little easier to read. It's like more stable. Mhm. That's maybe not the right word to describe it, but it seems more stable than the others.
Yeah, Wuthering Heights in particular I think was sort of chaotic getting into it. Um, yeah. And it feels— yeah, it was confusing. And Jane Eyre seems as if it had a more challenging vocabulary and maybe sentence structure just a little bit. So yeah, I forget because I read farther, I forget what you've been exposed to up to chapter 6. What are the most interesting things that you're getting out of what you've read up to so far?
The last thing I read was Um, what's his name? Oh, Gilbert was seeing Helen's paintings and he stumbled across the one that was faced toward the wall of the man, uh, that he described in like really, really great detail. So I was like, oh, this has got to be important for later on. Um, I'm guessing that man was Helen's old husband or something, deceased husband, because they always say she's a widow. That's my guess.
So would you say that there is sort of a mystery around Helen's past?
For sure, yeah, because especially because she hasn't given up much. She's very like quiet and secluded so far.
And what do you make of, um, the way Gilbert and Helen are relating to each other at this point?
What do you mean relating to each other, like what they have in common or just how they interact?
How they interact, how they interact.
I think From what I could tell, most of it has been a little awkward. Um, the main points in which they've interacted is where, um, Gilbert, um, I couldn't really tell if he was like going hunting or just going on a walk towards her property, but then he meets her 5-year-old son Arthur, and that's how they, I believe, first interact. And then he goes over with, with his mother and sister later on. And Helen and his mother have a polite argument about whether or not she should be coddling him, I think, which I honestly understood the most out of the entire thing I've read so far because I know, or I know a mother who does that with her son. Um, so that was interesting, but I would say, um, getting to know each other a little bit more but still a bit strained. I don't know if strained is the right word, but—
How about the other social relationships in the book? Are there any other social dynamics outside of Gilbert and Helen and Gilbert's mother that are interesting?
I was a little confused by Gilbert and Eliza. I couldn't tell if at certain points he did not like her or did like her. Or felt something for her. I couldn't tell. It was back and forth. I'm not sure what to make of it.
Doesn't he try to kiss her early on?
Um, I don't remember that.
You may have missed it.
I think that might be a little after.
No, I think it's early on. Or I may have missed it. Yeah, you may have missed it. I think there's a scene when she's leaving, and I don't know how serious a kiss or anything, but Yeah, if I can find it, I'll go back and let you know where it is in the text. But yeah, so the Eliza thing, and then how about the rest of the town or the rest of the people in the town? Do you think they're just sort of stock characters, or do you think any of them matter at all?
Well, he described a lot of them, a lot of the names. I don't quite remember, but Um, they seem like a close, tight-knit, like everyone knows everybody's business kind of neighborhood. Um, I know he described Eliza's parents, her sisters, um, the, the vicar and his family, which I think will be important later on just because he's been mentioned so much. But yeah, that's, that's what I think of it.
Got it. And then how about scene? We talked about how the scenery was important both in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Does scenery seem different, similar, uh, irrelevant?
Um, a little similar, honestly, but, but different. Um, I think it's less gloomy and dark than especially Wuthering Heights, for sure. Um, I don't explicitly remember if she was like, oh, it was very sunny, but that's not what I remember. Maybe just because I'm relating like the style to the other two books. I'm imagining it as a little bit darker, but definitely not as much as Wuthering Heights.
And can you have any hypotheses about the nature of this sister as opposed to the other two? I'm not— would you feel as if you know anything at all about the three sisters and their personalities having read two full novels by one of each, and then the very beginning of this third novel by the third sister.
Um, like their own distinct personalities? I mean, you could probably guess by their writing. Um, I know they've all probably written multiple books. Um, the one who wrote, um, Wuthering Heights, was that Emily? Mhm. I think, uh, she— I mean, I'm, I'm assuming she's a bit darker maybe, and Um, I— yeah, just a bit darker. I don't really know what that means. I'm just saying that because her writing was dark and the story was dramatic and vengeful. Um, the one who wrote Jane Eyre, Charlotte, I think she— uh, I mean, I would guess that Okay, based off the book, I would say she's maybe mysterious, but I only say that because there was a massive plot twist at the end that I wasn't expecting. Not as dark as Emily, I think, but it still had a dark twist in my opinion. And then I don't really know what to make of Anne because I'm not so far into her book, but she seems more precise. And not so complicated yet. But I don't know, that summary that I read seemed a little dark, so we'll see how it goes on.
Um, I was reading a little bit about them, and, um, do you know what world building is?
Yes, I do.
Apparently they kind of were engaged, and, you know, in many ways some people think of Tolkien as originating world building in the 20th century, and now of course world building is a big thing. But apparently they kind of did their own world building games at home. They were somewhat raised in some isolation, you know, out in the country, the Yorkshire countryside. And they had a brother, I think Bramley was his name. And the four of them read a lot and played a lot and kind of did world building imaginary sort of things, which I'm very curious when I see Groups, you know, families were things, you know, the kids do extraordinary things. And apparently the brother, Bramley, I think had problems. And so, you know, I don't know much about him yet, but the 3 girls all wrote these books and became famous. Just to think about families, you know, I met— I've never met your brother in person. I saw him once or twice on camera. My understanding is you and he are both very serious at jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Is that the case?
Yeah, I'd say so.
Would you say you are similar in any ways beyond that, or are those the only ways in which you're similar?
We're similar in lots of ways. I mean, we both do the same things. He likes reading and now he's reading more of the books that I've read, which is cool. He's really creative and gets along with everybody. Mm-hmm. We're— I think we're, we're very similar.
Do you have cousins?
Uh, yes, I do, on both sides.
And are your cousins similar to kind of your immediate family, or less so?
Uh, no, but I only say that just because they were raised differently. Yeah. Uh, and in different environments with access to different things.
Well, and this gets into raised, uh, and how people are raised and so forth. And so would you say both the interest in, um, physical competition and the interest in reading is because of deliberate actions from your parents?
Yeah, for sure, 100%.
So, um, they can create kind of a little subculture where, uh, yeah, you— I, again, it's tricky because there's a book called, um, The Nurture Assumption. I think we actually read a little bit, some of something by that author that claims that parents don't matter. And part of what she's arguing is that peers matter a lot and genes matter. But I think that parents can create a home subculture. And in fact, I wonder if to what extent, both in the case of the Brontës and in the case of your family, you as peers are positively— they as peers obviously influenced each other to write. And do you think you as peers and you and your brother influence each other somehow?
I think so. Um, I'm not sure if it's like, oh, she's writing, so I'm writing. I mean, actually, no. A couple years ago, Logan started writing his own book like I did with Abigail Williams, so that's one. But, um, I think other than that, I've probably influenced him and like how he acts. Um, how, I don't know, just how he kind of just does his day-to-day stuff, just because we're around each other so much and it's only the two of us. I think, I think that does matter. I think, but I also think that parents matter a lot too, because without my parents taking initiative and like putting me in the education I'm in and the sports I'm in, I definitely wouldn't be the same.. And it's not like I could have done that by myself. So I think they, I think they matter.
How, how much younger is your brother than you?
3 and a half years.
Okay. You know, I have children, they're 4 years apart and we kind of chose that to be far enough, close enough that they could still get along, but far enough that they wouldn't kind of compete with each other. Does that sound right for you and your brother? You get along, but you don't necessarily compete with each other?
Yeah, I think so. It's a good age gap.
Got it. Now, so in terms of the Brontë family, I guess as we go forward, you know, we'll get into The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, of course, and again, I can't wait. I got, as I said, through chapter 15. I can't wait for you to get up to that far because a lot happens. You know, the other thing is this one does seem to be easier to get into. I've said that sometimes these old books takes 50 to 100 pages to really get into it. I think this one, like chapter 6, in the next 5 chapters, it'll be racing. You know how the setting of the scene is kind of slow and a little bit boring sometimes. And here you have all these people to meet. You don't know who's important. You don't know who's not important. You know, that kind of thing.
Yeah.
But then the plot starts rolling along and then one gets pulled in by the plot. So it's coming very soon. So just because up to chapter 15 is a chunk and then it goes to a very different chunk. Let's go ahead and read through chapter 15 for next time, and then, uh, then we'll read a chunk after that. Um, so yeah, it's delightful that you're coming to Austin. Can't wait to see you all. And, uh, yeah, we'll, we'll arrange details via, via virtual contact. Okay.
