This, the darkest, gloomiest of Charlotte Bronte's novels, takes up again the subject of the subjugation of women by society. While there is no real objective statement of the problem, the subjective perceptions of the heroine (many current readers might prefer to refer to her as a non- or anti-heroine), Lucy Snowe, sharply underline the fact that women are considered to be an inferior order to men and should act accordingly.

Lucy has little money, no family to which to turn, and no personal attractiveness (some readers believe that she also possesses absolutely no charm); she must attempt to "get along" as best she can under those circumstances and with the awareness that she can expect no help from any social institutions.

In Villette, the subjection of women is presented in a more intense fashion than in Bronte's earlier works: The book is set primarily in...