Villette, Chapter 8 summary

What happens

1. Madame Beck gives Miss Snowe food and a bed, then secretly examines her possessions and makes wax impressions of her keys.
2. A police officer removes Mrs. Sweeny after she angrily resists being replaced as nursery governess.
3. Miss Snowe describes Madame’s efficient school, generous care of pupils, constant surveillance, and rule by self-interest.
4. After testing Miss Snowe’s teaching, Madame asks her to replace the absent English master before sixty pupils.
5. Miss Snowe accepts the challenge, tears Blanche’s exercise page, and locks the disruptive Dolores in a book closet.
6. The lesson proceeds quietly, and Madame makes Miss Snowe an English teacher with higher pay and substantially increased work.

In this chapter

What to notice

Madame turns a teaching assignment into a choice between retreat and action. Miss Snowe chooses to confront the class despite her fear and limited French.

Quick check