Villette in March: the sad and bitter ending

This week's readalong covered the last bit of Villette - the ending was so sad that I couldn't even write a coherent post. Have some bullet points instead :'(

• M. Paul's short temperament ebbed and flowed (90% flow, 10% ebb) throughout the whole book, so I could never get a good read on him when he says things like 'Lucy, you're such a good friend - even though you're a silly Protestant'. Just when you start to see this 'nicer' side of him, he decides to leave the school.  Lucy obvs takes this personally, the maid doses her on a "mild sedative" and Lucy ends up wandering around a festival while high (basically).
• Madame Beck, Père Silas and Madame Walravens are super shady and are exploiting M. Paul's trip to Guadalupe for their own gain. Madame Beck and Madame Walraves need the cash, and Père Silas wants a piece of the Caribbean to set up camp as a missionary.
• Gasp - there are TWO Justine Maries! (The dead fiance, and the niece that was named in memory of her) Neither of them are the ghost nun. Womp womp.
• Not as big of a gasp - ghost nun is not a ghost.  Just-a-nun could possibly be a man who likes to play dress-up? Ginevra is apparently into that and ends up eloping with him. (yes, ghost nun is actually just-a-nun who is actually just Count De Hamal.
• After days of being stood-up, Lucy finally gets to see M. Paul, who has been away this whole time to build up a new school for Lucy to run while he is away. He then vaguely proposes to her over dinner and promises that he'll be back someday. Um, how romantic. M. Paul sets sail the next day.
• Lucy enjoys herself while she sets up the school, establishes a library, and tends to the plants. Miss Marchmont's promise to financially bless her comes through via her cousin.  Lucy realizes that she is happiest when working for others. She finally gets loving letters from M. Paul and no longer has to hide them or bury them with concrete to keep them from obsessive Madames or ghost-nuns, so I guess things are going great for her!  I wanted the book to end here, with Lucy being all happy and productive and waiting for M. Paul's return.
• NOPE. Charlotte Bronte keeps writing and ruins it all for me. Lucy waits for M. Paul's arrival after the 3 years are up.  Lucy notes that there are storms on the horizon, and Charlotte Bronte dropped hints in the prior chapters that the climate is terrible and the journey is dangerous.  So yeah... he doesn't make it back.  Everyone else's story, however, ends happily.  The shady trio (Madame Beck, Père Silas and Madame Walravens) get their fortune, Ginevra gets to be a countess, Dr. John gets the demure and submissive Paulina, Everyone is happy except Lucy, who does not get her own happy ending.  

Charlotte Bronte, you are BRUTAL.  I need to go read something happy now. *weeps bitterly*