The Tenant of Wildfell Hall last decades of the 20th century "The Tenant" started to get critical acclaim. Elizabeth Langland in her 1989 monograph "Anne Brontë: The Other One" said: "It is worth pausing briefly to reflect on what might have been Anne’s fate had "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" been re-published with "Agnes Grey" so that critics could re-acquaint themselves with Anne’s greater novel and so that critics could take that opportunity to measure the substantial artistic growth between the two novels." Langland argued that the heroines in Anne's novels influenced those of Charlotte, and named Anne among the first women writers to adopt
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is "more pliable," never shows any noticeable reform throughout the novel. Joshi concludes that Gilbert is "tottering toward a new form of masculinity" together with Jack Halford, his close friend, by exchanging confidences and, by learning to communicate and reveal emotions, doing what is considered to be feminine, he can redeem himself, become a new man and a worthy husband of Helen. Of all Arthur's friends, only Walter Hargrave has never been a heavy drinker. He uses this as a manipulation in an attempt to win her favour. When it doesn't work, he starts speculating that Helen cannot manage her