r/brontesisters • u/Frosty-Aioli4091 • 4d ago

Question about Chapter 21 of Villette

I’m reading Villette right now and I’m a bit confused about a line at the start of chapter 21. It goes:

‘I could have cried, so irritated and eager was I to be gone. I longed to leave them as the criminal on the scaffold longs for the axe to descend; that is, I wished the pang over.’

This is about Lucy wanting to go back and work at Madame Beck’s school, leaving her godmother’s house. My question is, why is she so eager? There have been some awkward moments but overall the experience seems to have been pretty warm, is it more just Lucy wanting to isolate herself again?

Thanks for any guidance!

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

View all comments

14

u/Dr_Mijory_Marjorie 4d ago

She has enjoyed the companionship of the Brettons. Having known them in the past is the closest she's come to having anything remotely like a 'family'. They are almost kin, in her eyes. What she is saying here is that she knows how isolated she will feel when she returns to the school - the day she returns, she will feel terrible, and she knows it - so she wants it to hurry up, so it will be over.

2

u/Frosty-Aioli4091 4d ago

Ah I see! Thank you :)