British Literature from 1800, "The Mythmakers"

NOTE: If you missed class, the handout I gave everyone is posted below these questions. The first two passages are from the biographical/editorial preface that Charlotte Bronte published with the reprint of the book in 1850. It shows how she was trying to defend and in a sense apologize for the book's tone and outlandish "rustic" ideas. The third passage comes from Emily Bronte herself, and is a satirical essay about cats and why anyone who says they don't like cats is a hypocrite. It relates in many ways to our reading of Wuthering Heights .  Answer two of the following:  Q1: How does Nelly characterize Cathy throughout these chapters?   Has she become corrupted by society?   Or does she remain a primal, ‘innocent’ woman throughout?   How much of what we see is her, and how much is how Nelly ‘reads’ her? 2. A similar question, but this time for Heathcliff: can we be sure that his emergence as the true ‘villain’ of the story is not of her makin...

We'll start with our next novel slowly, just reading the first six (or so, get as far as you can) chapters for Friday. This novel is a little trickier to read than Frankenstein , though it has a lot in common with that equally famous work. I think you'll see shades of Wollsonecraft, Austen, and Shelley here, though Bronte offers us an even more complex view of human relationships than we've seen so far in this class (though she's probably more like Wollstonecraft than anyone else).  NOTE: You can also read the Biographical Notice and the Preface by Charlotte Bronte that precedes the novel if you like; it will give you some unique insights into the work by Emily Bronte's sister, who had a difficult relationship with her sister (and the novel itself).  Q1: Like Frankenstein , this novel employs a frame narrative, with Lockwood telling his story, which is also his account of Mrs. Dean's narrative of Heathcliff and company. Why do you think Bronte chooses to ...

NOTE: Finish the book  or come as close as possible, since Monday is our last full class on the novel. But don't worry, you'll be able to write about it soon enough! :)  Answer two of the following:  Q1: When Victor bids farewell to Elizabeth (after planning to marry her), 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? Q2: When Victor finds Elizabeth slain by the Creature, he “rushed ...

NOTE: No questions this time, since we'll have an in-class writing response. We're getting close to the end, so read as close to Chapter 4 of Book 3 as possible.  For those who missed class, or simply want to see it again, here's the handout I gave out in class today about the changes Shelley made between the 1818 and 1831 versions of the novel. These are only two significant ones, and there are many more minor ones that still change how we read the novel.  I. Volume One, Chapter Seven (or Eight in 1831) [1818] “Oh, Justine! forgive me for having for one moment distrusted you...I will try to comfort you; but this, I fear, is an evil too deep and poignant to admit of consolation, for there is no hope. Yet heaven bless thee, my dearest Justine, with resignation, and a confidence elevated beyond this world. Oh! how I hate its shews and mockeries! when one creature is murdered, another is immediately deprived of life in a slow torturing manner; then the executioners, ...

NOTE: I want to spend more time on Chapter 7, since we didn't talk about it in class, so if you already read it, you have one less chapter to read! If you were behind, make sure to read it for Wednesday. And remember, even if you can't read all the chapters, at least read some of them closely. It's better to read some of the assigned reading with focus than to simply skim all of it (or worse, just get the summaries from Spark Notes--which robs you of the pleasure and the intellectual rigor of reading).  Answer two of the following as usual:  Q1: In Chapter 7, Victor and Elizabeth interview Justine in prison, and learn of her false confession. How might this chapter be a discussion of justice and cruelty comparable to what we find in Maria ? Why doesn't Victor, who knows the truth, tell the court what he knows? Does he admit his cowardice to Walton?  Q2: How does Elizabeth change in these chapters from what he was? Victor notes that "She was no longer that...

NOTE: If you have a different edition, read the first seven chapters, to the end of Volume (or Book) One.  Answer TWO of the following: Q1: Most first-time readers of  Frankenstein  are surprised to find that the novel begins with a frame narrative: that of Walton, the arctic explorer, who is writing home to his sister, Mrs. Saville. What purpose does this frame serve, especially since it could have all been narrated from Victor’s point of view? Also, why is a narrator like Walton a horror-story (or Gothic story) convention even in films today?  Q2: According to the story of his early education that Victor gives to Walton, what set him on the path of creating new life? How did he go from an earnest, naive young man to a “modern Prometheus” who would “pour a torrent of light into our dark world”? Q3: Immediately after he creates his “monster,” Victor ends up falling asleep and has a nightmare of  Elizabeth , where as soon as he kisses her, “her lips....

"Mad Kate" by Henry Fuseli, an artist with whom Wollstonecraft had an affair NOTE: If we have a snow day on Wednesday, we'll just push this to Friday's class. ALSO, check the post below this one for the Paper #1 assignment and the Schedule Changes.  Answer TWO of the following... 1. In Chapter 21, we encounter Austen’s spot-on imitation of a Gothic novel, complete with many of the hallmarks of the genre from works like  The Castle of Otranto  and  The Mysteries of Udolpho .  How do we read this chapter in particular—as a parody or a legitimate attempt to conjure up a sense of horror for her readers?  Does the tone of a giggling narrator lie behind this, or is Austen allowing herself, audaciously, to write like a Mrs. Radcliffe?  2. How do you feel the Catherine/Henry romance is progressing in these chapters?  Is it a dance of mutual respect and admiration, or does he appear more condescending and dominating?  Consider the conve...