67 pages 2 hours read

Charlotte Brontë

Villette

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1853

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Chapters 13-14

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 13 Summary: “A Sneeze Out of Season”

Lucy continues to enjoy spending time in the garden but feels as though she is being constantly watched. The girls attend evening religious study each night, but Lucy does not participate because she is Protestant. Lucy also does not enjoy the Catholic stories of martyrs and saints.

One night Lucy discovers Madame going through her belongings. Lucy believes Madame to be suspicious of her after the meeting in the garden with Dr. John. Lucy does not reveal her presence as she does not want to ruin her relationship with Madame, but the event unsettles her: “I cried hot tears: not because Madame mistrusted me—I did not care two pence for her mistrust—but for other reasons. Complicated, disquieting thoughts broke up the whole repose of my nature” (153). Lucy checks her belongings afterwards, noting a bouquet of dried flowers given to her by a person she does not name. Lucy reviews the details from the night the box was dropped and decides to discuss it further with Dr. John.

Madame continues to require the doctor’s visits for Georgette though she is no longer ill. Lucy is fond of Georgette and happy when, just prior to one of Dr. John’s visits, Madame asks her to stay with Georgette until the doctor’s arrival.

Related Titles

By Charlotte Brontë