Lessons from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: Recasting the Mother

AbstractThe mother functioned as a central, stabilizing figure of the Victorian household, sparking widespread debates over what qualities best served this role. This article reassesses Anne Brontee’s contributions to this important social debate. Her feminism is best evidenced through her characters, particularly the mother, and her rational feminist approach to mothering. This philosophy links her to an earlier radical feminist tradition, yet it also advances her modern notions of motherhood. Her radical rendering of the mother – best articulated in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – challenges existing standards and proposes new possibilities for active mothering and rational motherhood.