Insights on "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"
The play, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall", based on the novel by Anne Bronte, reveals a mournful story of a widow, Helen Graham, who moves into the withered Wildfell Hall in an attempt to erase her past. The entire play permeates a mysterious and grave atmosphere when depicting Ms. Graham who doesn't want the new town to know her past. However, using irony throughout, the play creates humours for the audience beside the engima and tragedy.
In the beginning of the play, when Markham discovers in Wildfell Hall that Lawrence has an intimate relationship with Graham, Markham gets furious and jealous of Lawrence and punches him in the face. However, it is later revealed in the play that Lawrence is actually Graham's brother. Markham feels very embarssed and apologize to Lawrence after obtaining this fact. The playwright intentionally lets Markham, as well as the audience, to misunderstand Lawrence's behaviours towards Graham to build even more suspense and elicit skepticism from the audience. However, as the truth is revealed later, the audience feels that the tension previously built is resolved in a facetious way. After all, this is an effective way to relax the audience.
Near the end of the play, there is another misunderstanding provided for the audience. After absent and away for a long time, Graham, according to gossips by the Wilsons, is going to get married soon; this fact, of course, angers Markham greatly and distresses him as well as the audience. Markham completely loses control of himself and can't understand this sudden piece of information. Just at the instant moment when the audience is anticipating a disappointing ending, Lawrence reveals that he, not Graham, is the one getting married. This false impression elicits laughters and relief from the audience, adumbrating a happy ending.
In the end, the play successfully brings out a layer of humour and irony that exists beyond that of mystery and sobriety. This light-hearted mood is achieved through establishing intentional confusions which build tension, and resolving such tension later on in the play as the truth is revealed.
