British Literature from 1800, "The Mythmakers"

Self-Portrait by Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun, 1790 For Thursday, start reading Vol.3, getting to or around Chapter 9. But again, if you fall short, you will still be able to contribute to the in-class writing.  Here are some general ideas to consider (you DON'T need to answer these): * Note Elizabeth’s reaction to arriving at Pemberley: what do you make her reaction to the feel of the place, and of the account of Darcy his housekeeper gives her? Is she dazzled by the sheer wealth and spectacle of the place, or something else? * How does Darcy signal a change in his attitude (if not his love) at their next meeting? How should Elizabeth and the reader ‘read’ this? * Think, too, about how letters continue to play an important role in the novel, even when we can’t literally read them. It’s possible that First Impressions was an epistolary novel before Jane Austen re-wrote it as Pride and Prejudice . So why might she have retained some of the letters, and/or their role in the plot? * ...

Gainsborough, Portrait of Molly and Peggy (c.1760) REMEMBER: No class on Thursday--go to the 1920's event in the UC instead!  Try to read all or as much of Part II as you can for Tuesday's class since you have a few extra days (and what else would you want to do, except spend all day reading Austen?!).  Answer TWO of the following: Q1: How does Austen satirize the upper classes ala Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (the Gainsborough painting) at  Rosings? Consider how Lady Catherine treats her social inferiors--the Collins and Elizabeth--and how might Austen be sharing Elizabeth 's delight here in "anything ridiculous"?   Q2: How does the manner of Darcy’s proposal echo, in some particulars, that of Mr. Collins? Why is each one incapable of a truly flattering, romantic proposal? What factors does Darcy apparently have to overcome to express his love and affection to Elizabeth ? Q3: Why do you think Elizabeth conceals the proposal from her family, as well as the truth about Wi...

Rare painting by a woman of a woman from the 19th century: Marie Denise Villers, portrait of  Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d'Ognes NOTE: If you want to know more about the painting above, which is by one of only a handful of female painters of this period, check it out at the Met Museum's website here:  https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437903 Answer TWO of the following as usual... Q1: After a fairly short acquaintance, Elizabeth Bennet uncharacteristically falls for George Wickham, a “red coat,” one of the officers that Kitty and Lydia chase about. As she herself says, "he is, beyond all comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw." Why does she fall for him? IS this really out of character for her? Or might it tie into the overarching themes of the novel itself (hint: remember the original title)? Q2: Why does Charlotte agree to marry Mr. Collins after Elizabeth has already refused him? And more importantly, why doesn't Elizabeth  b...

  Joseph Ducreux, Portrait of a Gentleman As always, answer TWO of the following, and get as far as you can in the novel before Friday's class, even if you don't finish all 13 chapters (but go further if you like!):  Q1: Some of the most famous lines in English literature are the opening lines of this novel, which begin, "It is a truth generally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife..." These lines are of course deliciously satirical, and suggest that everything that follows is an elaborate lampoon, sort of like Gainsborough’s painting of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. But is that the only way to read this? Can this be more than just a good-natured ribbing of small-town society? Are there darker implications to this fortune-cookie like wisdom? Q2: Though the novel isn't a first-person account of English life in the country, the narration seems to borrow something from a first-person perspective. Discuss a passage whe...

Actual photo of Antarctica--wrong Pole, but the right idea NO QUESTIONS for Thursday's class, but try to get close to finishing and consider some of the following ideas for Thursday's in-class response: * Why doesn't Victor anticipate the Creature's threat when he promises, "I will be with you on your wedding night."?  * Also, what connotations does this threat carry besides the one Victor hears? * How does Mary Shelley give Elizabeth a little life and agency before she dies in the book? In other words, what does she say before she is silenced forever? * Anything strange about her death scene, or Victor's response to it? * In the final chapters, does Shelley hint at the possibility that the Creature only exists in Victor's mind? * How does Victor undercut his own 'moral' in telling Walton the story of his life?  * In the last letter, Walton seems to conclusively prove the Creature's existence, since he not only sees him but converses with h...

Self-portrait of Goya (c.1790's)  NOTE: I updated Q3 since it included a passage that is outside of today's reading--I jumped the gun! Sorry!  Answer TWO of the following: Q1: When Victor bids farewell to Elizabeth (in Vol.3, Chapter 1), the 1831 text says that she “acquiesced; but she was filled with disquiet at the idea of my suffering, away from her, the inroads of misery and grief...she bade me a tearful, silent farewell.” However, the original 1818 version of the novel reads: “ Elizabeth approved of the reasons of my departure, and only regretted that she had not the same opportunities of enlarging her experience, and cultivating her understanding...We all, said she, depend upon you; and if you are miserable, what must be our feelings?"  What does the original text seem to communicate about Elizabeth ’s experience that the 1831 version wipes away? Why might Shelley have wanted to 'silence' Elizabeth here and in other parts of the novel (for example, her big s...