Aurora Leigh Take One

We have read about half the verse novel now.  How would you characterize Aurora?  What kind of person is she?  Is she sympathetic? admirable? arrogant? self absorbed? naive?  Do you like her?  Did you feel the same about her in the beginning as you do now?

Then, with that considered, think about the narrative.  This is in first person--so how reliable is she as a narrator?  Can we trust her in her descriptions of Lady Waldemar, for example?

Only a Nurse?

Sorry for the late post!

What did you find the most compelling/revealing about Nightingale's complaint in Cassandra?  How much of what she has to say about women's lives did you find in the other novels we have read--or the poem?

Why Does Ruth Die?

We discussed this in class some yesterday, but I think it bears further discussion.  Why does Ruth die?  This is very different from HOW she dies.  Is her death symbolic?  Why can Richard Bradshaw--who is also a sinner who actually breaks the law of the land, not just social law--survive? And why does Donne get off so easily? Answer this question in part in the context of the Schor article.  Why does she think Ruth dies?  Do you agree?

 Remember that your summary is not an analysis of the article's argument.  Your summary shows that you understand the argument the writer is making, so now you can agree or disagree with it.

As is typical of my posts, I ask lots of questions, but each is not distinct.  Rather, the string of questions is meant to clarify a single question (in the case "Why does Ruth die?").

Ruth and the Fallen Woman

Ruth is the second example of a "fallen woman" that we have read about this semester.  Had the attitude changed toward the fallen woman, as much as you can determine from the novel, in the years between the publication of Pride and Prejudice and Ruth?  How do you you think Austen and Gaskell felt about the characters that they have "fall?" (Remember to give specific evidence of why you think they feel the way they do from the text of each.)

Evolutionary Psychology and Austen

The critical essay you read this week for Pride and Prejudice  is typical of literary criticism in that it applies a theory outside literature to literary characters.  Do you think that is a valid critical method (this one specifically, but also in general)?  Can you impose a reading (a heuristic) on fiction?  Is the fact that the Bennet sisters marry well proof of the validity of  evolutionary psychology?

Austen the Feminst (?)

Can you classify this novel as a feminist novel--one that is concerned with women's issues and the limitations society sets for women?  What evidence is there in the novel to suggest that Jane Austen or her narrator or Elizabeth Bennett is a feminist?  Remember that the story is about marriage.  While it may not be the stated object or goal of ALL the women in the story to get married, what other options in life do they have, according to the novel?  What else can these upper class women DO?