The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: Chapter 44 Summary & Analysis

Helen, little Arthur, and Rachel leave the next morning. Helen is exhilarated and hopeful, as she is finally leaving the scenes of her misery behind. She plans to pass as a widow, and so is dressed head to toe in black, and since Arthur and Rachel are likewise in plain attire, she hopes they won’t attract too much attention. It’s dark when they leave Grassdale, but eventually the weather grows beautiful, a perfect late October day. It’s a long journey, though, and when night falls, they still have seven miles to go. They travel the rest of the way in an uncomfortable cart and arrive at Wildfell Hall exhausted.

An old woman who has been airing the room greets them and makes them a modest meal. Then they fall asleep, and Helen wakes to little Arthur’s kisses. By daylight, Wildfell Hall is sparsely furnished and gloomy, but Helen is still in a cheerful frame of mind, and that continues during her first two weeks’ stay at Wildfell. Frederick has helped her furnish the rooms and provides her with painting supplies. They all get settled in their new home, and the only two dark spots on Helen’s happiness are a portrait of Mr. Huntingdon that was included in the packing boxes and her fear of being discovered. She and Frederick have to be careful as well, so as not to inspire petty and scandalous gossip.

The painting of Arthur pains Helen, as it reminds her of her folly in falling in love with him in the first place. It is also no longer a faithful portrait of the man himself—in the span of six years, he has been ruined by drink and bad conduct. Helen learns that Arthur has been pressuring Helen’s friends and family, particularly Frederick, to tell him where she is. He doesn’t want her back—he wants little Arthur—but Helen vows he will never have custody of their child ever again.

Helen writes of her kind new neighbors and their relentless curiosity. She worries about their discovering her identity, and is reluctant to leave little Arthur for long for fear that Mr. Huntingdon will snatch him away. Her overprotectiveness has drawn the attention of the local minister, who worries about her spotty church attendance. She vows to leave Arthur with Rachel for a few hours and go to church, even though she knows it will be a difficult day for her.

Helen’s last entry is dated November 3rd. She writes a sentence about the “fine gentleman and beau of the parish,” but the entry ends incomplete. Gilbert senses she is writing about him, but has no way of knowing for sure.

The rest of Helen’s journal is torn away. Gilbert assumes this is because she does not want him to read any entries about himself. He admits to Halford, his audience, that he would have liked to have read about the transformation in her feelings for him, but he knows it was best for her to deprive him of that joy. He doesn’t deserve it.