The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Arthur Huntingdon Senior is Helen’s first husband. When Helen meets him, he has inherited the estate of Grassdale and is behaving in the reckless manner of a young gentleman sowing his wild oats. He spends lavishly, he drinks, and he has affairs. Helen thinks him quite handsome with his bright blue eyes and curly chestnut hair. He is lively, witty, and entertaining, and she notes “a certain graceful ease and freedom about all he said and did” (153).

Gilbert, when he sees his portrait, describes Huntingdon as “prouder of his beauty than his intellect” (70-71). After their marriage, Helen discovers that Huntingdon is selfish, “lusty and reckless, as light of heart and head as ever, and as restless and hard to amuse as a spoilt child” (238). Huntingdon has no interests beyond his own pleasure and amusement. Helen says, “he has no more idea of exerting himself to overcome obstacles than he has of restraining his natural appetites,” and she predicts “these two things are the ruin of him" (238).

Huntingdon turns out to have a cruel streak. He has an affair with his friend’s wife, speaks harshly to his servants, and taunts Helen, trying to upset her. He is entertained by his friends’ drunken behavior but violently jealous of Walter Hargrave’s attentions to Helen. Huntingdon’s growing addiction to alcohol ruins his marriage and ultimately his health. He attempts to control Helen, including destroying her paintings when he learns she intends to leave him, but he blames her cool manner for the cessation of his affection. Throughout, Huntingdon shows a stubborn refusal to take responsibility for his own actions or their consequences, including his inability to repent and reconcile himself to death.

Gilbert Markham is the eldest son of a gentleman farmer and the owner of Linden Grange. He works to oversee the farm and its business but admits that he has been spoiled by his widowed mother, who favors him over her daughter, Rose, and second son, Fergus. Gilbert thinks well of himself and is flattered by Eliza Millward’s preference for him, but he is intensely derisive of Jane Wilson, who prefers Frederick Lawrence. Gilbert tells his story from the vantage point of being older, as he is only 24 when he meets Helen; he does not shy away from describing the vanity and self-interest of his youth.

Gilbert is indignant over Helen’s cool dismissal of him when they first meet, but as he learns he cannot easily change her mind, he becomes more strategic in his plan to make Helen like him, pursuing friendship with her and her son. He reacts dramatically when he thinks Helen is having an affair with Lawrence, and his malice towards the other man reveals his immaturity and lack of self-control when he strikes Lawrence. His behavior signals the amount of growth he needs to undergo before he can unite with Helen.

Reading Helen’s journal enables Gilbert to understand her situation and character better, but he grapples with pride again when Helen leaves the neighborhood and Gilbert must learn of her through Lawrence. The enforced distance has a maturing effect on him: When he becomes aware of Helen’s changed social situation due to inheriting Staningley, he considers, for the first time, what might be best for Helen instead of focusing on his own needs. Gilbert’s self-assurance falters when he worries he is not good enough for Helen—he does not want it thought she lowered herself by marrying a less wealthy man, but he is also concerned she might come to regret marrying him as she did Huntingdon. Whether due to Helen’s good influence or his own maturation, the older Gilbert reports to his friend that his marriage has been happy, suggesting that he has proven a cordial companion to Helen after all due to his ability to grow and change—the very thing Helen’s first husband utterly failed to do.

Lord Lowborough is one of Arthur Huntingdon’s friends and a fellow member of his club. He serves largely as a foil to Huntingdon and provides a study for the themes of addiction and the perils of marriage. When Helen first meets Lowborough before she is married, Aunt Maxwell warns that he is a desperate man; he has lost a fortune in gambling and must marry an heiress (190). He is initially drawn to Annabella Wilmot because she will inherit her uncle’s fortune, but when he falls in love with her, he is unable to see that Annabella is interested in him only for his title and rank.

Lowborough is very admiring of Annabella, at least early in their marriage—the one example in Huntingdon’s circle of a husband devoted to his wife. But Helen is not sure if he realizes how Annabella manipulates him. When he learns his wife is having an affair with Huntingdon, Lowborough is humiliated and hurt. Helen guesses that he thinks about suicide but manages to overcome his despair. He also refuses to challenge Huntingdon to a duel. His reconciliation to his own suffering aligns with Helen’s concept of virtue and she commends him for it.

Lowborough struggled with a gambling addiction and was only able to stop when he lost his entire fortune. Thereafter he misused alcohol and used opium to medicate his despair. In time, Lowborough was able to overcome his addictive behaviors through abstinence. However, when he avoids drinking at Huntingdon’s house party and joins the women in the parlor instead, he is accused by the others for lacking a “manly” spirit.

Lowborough proves resilient, however. Just as he overcame his addictions, he likewise recovers from his failed marriage to Annabella. He divorces her for adultery, takes custody of their children, and marries a widow with many conventionally good qualities who loves him for himself. His example of reformation provides a contrast to Huntingdon, who denies his wife a separation and is unable to give up alcohol even when he perceives its destructive effects.

Annabella Wilmot is introduced as “a fine dashing girl” (160), 25 years old to Helen’s 18, who describes herself as “too great a flirt to be married” (160). She is the niece of Mr. Wilmot, one of Helen’s suitors. She will inherit her uncle’s wealth as well as the property of her father. She is very attractive, with glossy black hair and brilliant black eyes, and she enjoys being admired. Unlike Helen, who wants to marry Huntingdon for love, Annabella forgoes her passionate attachment to Huntingdon to marry Lord Lowborough, a match which will advance her social station.

As with Huntingdon, Annabella’s devotion to her own pleasure is a contrast to Helen’s prized virtue. Annabella does not see moral principle, or other people’s feelings, as a barrier to her own desires. In fact, she seems surprised that Helen takes exception to her husband’s affair. Annabella’s concern is not that she hurt Helen’s feelings or broke her marriage vows but that Lowborough will find out. If Annabella has hopes regarding Huntingdon, they are disappointed, for he loses interest in her. When Lowborough divorces her, Annabella is left on her own, a dramatic parallel to Helen’s own situation. However, while Helen’s virtuousness is rewarded with a second (and happier) marriage, Annabella’s behavior leads her to “debt, disgrace and misery” until she dies of “utter wretchedness” (460)—a warning to other women about the wages of sin.