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Explanation and Analysis:
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a realist novel in that it depicts the bleak everyday lives of its characters rather than romanticizing them. This is seen in the “scandalous” (for its time) portrayal of Arthur’s debauchery, infidelity, and abuse.
Though the novel initially presents itself as a romantic or social comedy—a mysterious woman comes to a small town where men desire her and women gossip about her—it becomes clear when the novel moves from Gilbert’s perspective to Helen’s that her secrets are darker and more terrifying than anyone anticipated.
Some scholars consider The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be one of the first feminist novels. Brontë’s portrayal of the cruelty and debauchery of wealthy men was so radical for her time that her sister Charlotte persuaded the publisher not to print the book after Anne’s death (as she didn’t find the themes to be appropriate). It was also unusual for Victorian novels to tell the stories of financially independent women who earned income of their own (as Helen does through her painting).
The novel could also be considered a work of spiritual or moral fiction as Brontë is clearly trying to leave her readers with a moral lesson, specifically that if they behave righteously and in line with Christian teachings, they will be rewarded in the end. This lesson comes across in Brontë’s decision to have all of the immoral characters in the novel end up dead and/or sad and alone, while the moral ones end up in happy marriages with financial stability.
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