Servants and Animals in Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Abstract

In Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Brontë employs animals and servants to provoke moral responses from her readers. Unfailingly, those characters Anne Brontë — and her reader — approve of are humane in their treatment of animals and servants. Similarly, her most morally flawed characters largely expose themselves to criticism through their behaviour and treatment of their dependants. Animals and servants are briefly considered in Agnes Grey. This is followed by an extensive exploration of these features in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Anne Brontë creates her own individual manifestation of a moral code and this is an important factor in the success of the novels in engaging the reader.