Villette

The teachers and students prepare for examinations before the summer break. Lucy has a conversation with M. Paul where they agree to be friends. He tells her he enjoyed seeing her in the play, but Lucy says she did not like it. M. Paul claims to understand Lucy better than others at the school, saying, “I know you! I know you! Other people in this house see you pass, and think that colourless shadow has gone by. As for me, I scrutinized your face once, and it sufficed” (200).

Lucy remains alone at the convent for eight weeks while the other teachers and students visit family or take vacations. Only one maid, Groton, remains. For the first few weeks Lucy must care for a disabled student, which is physically and emotionally taxing and prevents her from leaving the premises. Lucy descends into a deep depression.

When the student’s aunt takes her away, Lucy is free to leave. She takes long walks through the town, which only briefly alleviate her mental distress. Lucy becomes ill with a fever and is in bed for nine days, during which she cannot sleep; when she does drift off, she has terrifying dreams that include a shipwreck.