British Literature from 1800, "The Mythmakers"

As a way to introduce you to some of the themes we'll be exploring with our last two books, I've recorded a short lecture (about 18 min.) that I would have discussed with you in class if we were still meeting. I know 18 minutes is a lot to watch in a single stretch, so feel free to start and stop, or simply leave it playing in the background. However, I think it will help you see and understand some of the larger ideas going on behind the scenes in Mansfield's stories.  AFTER you watch the video, answer the following question as a COMMENT below: "Since many women in the early 19th century tried to hide their identity as a woman by adopting a male name, or writing more 'male' stories, how do you think colonial writers did the same? That is, how did they hide their colonial identity in writing to sound more 'English'? What might they have had to hide, or ignore, or not reveal as a writer? (This will count toward your participation grade, since I can...

For Monday, I want you to slowly start reading some of Mansfield's short stories. The post above will give you some context about Mansfield's life and Colonialism, which is an important element of many of her stories. You can e-mail me these questions (at jgrasso@ecok.edu) at any time between now and Friday, but no later than Friday (since I'll give you a new set then).   I know it's hard to come back after such a long break, especially since we're not really coming back; however, I'll do everything I can to make this last third of class engaging, even if it's somewhat lackluster not meeting face to face. Please e-mail me with any questions and concerns you have, and I'll be more than happy to respond.  Answer two of the following: Q1: As mentioned in my lecture (in the post above), the feeling of isolation is central to Mansfield's stories, even though none of the characters are truly alone. What seems to make these characters feel so isola...

Welcome Back (Almost)! I know the class won't be the same as it was, but I do intend to keep reading along with you guys, and giving you questions, a few videos (see below), and one more paper assignment late in the semester. However, here are the changes I propose for the class going forward: 1. No more MWF classes. Instead, I'll give you two sets of readings/questions, one at the beginning of the week, and one at the end. So your Monday questions will be due on Friday, and your Friday the following Monday. The readings will follow roughly the same schedule as on the syllabus, except I'll cut the movie and the supplementary readings I had planned prior to Spring Break. 2. Once a week, I'll also post a short lecture (10-15 minutes, approx) along with a Powerpoint to either introduce historical context or highlight aspects of the reading. These are versions of what I would have otherwise done in class, just minus the great discussion.  I think it would be difficult t...

Note that we DO have class tomorrow, March 13th, which is our last face-to-face class for some time. Spring Break is next week, and then the President decided to extend Spring Break for an additional week. Classes will resume on the 30th but only on an on-line basis, meaning I can only conduct class via our blog. We'll talk more about what this means tomorrow, and of course I'll keep you updated on the blog itself. If you have any questions, just e-mail me any time. So we'll keep going, keep reading and doing questions, and I'll try to give you my insights on the works we read, but without our wonderful class discussions (and this class has been truly spectacular in this regard--the best British Lit class I've had in years, or maybe ever). I'll miss talking to you guys more than you know, but at least I can still read your responses and eventually, your paper assignments. The Paper #2 assignment will be moved back until the double Spring Break is over, obv...

Did you know that Voldemort (Ralph Finnes) once played Heathcliff??  NOTE: We'll spent two more days on the novel, but these will be the last questions I'll give you. Be sure to finish the novel, or get pretty close, by Wednesday. We'll have another in-class response to round it off then.  Answer two of the following:  Q1: How does Linton’s character emerge in these chapters?   Is he another poor victim of Heathcliff’s tyranny?   Or a tyrannous, selfish character himself?   How do Nelly and Cathy respond to him? Q2: Does Nelly become more ‘reliable’ in these chapters as a narrator?   Does she have more flashes of self awareness—or at least a sense of her own role in the story (rather as the mute observer she would often claim to be)?   Do you find yourself agreeing with her more?   Being less suspicious of her?   Q3: Heathcliff emerges more as a Gothic villain than ever in these chapters.   How do we read his...

Answer TWO of the following… Q1: How does Nelly’s relationship with the second Catherine develop?   Also, how does she characterize her throughout these chapters?   Is she ‘better’ than the previous Catherine?   Worse?   What traits or similarities does Nelly try to impress upon the reader?    Q2: Where do you see any narrative ‘slips’ by Nelly in these passages?   Playing on  the idea that she is less narrating history than writing it, where do you see her ‘writing’ rather than narrating the story?   In other words, where do you see what she says at odds with what might actually be happening—or what others directly say is happening?   Q3: Discuss Heathcliff’s motives in these chapters: why does he insist on taking Linton back, and why does he instigate a romance between Linton and Catherine?   We know why Nelly thinks he is…but is she right?   Is the only motive for this a nefarious one?   Q4: The fi...

“But supposing at twelve years old, I had been wrenched from the Heights, and every early association, and my all in all, as Heathcliff was at that time, and had been converted at a stroke into Mrs. Linton, the lady of Thrushcross Grange, and the wife of a stranger; an exile, and outcast, thenceforth, from what had been my world—You may fancy a glimpse of the abyss where I groveled!...Why am I so changed?” (Vol.1, Chapter XII). INTRO: In both Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights, the idea of innocence vs. experience is at play, where characters are thrown into an awareness of the horrors of adulthood (death, sexuality, brutality, marriage, sin, class, etc.) without a proper parental figure guiding them through the ritual. As a result, characters are constantly “exiled” from their youth and their childish selves, becoming split in two, until they scarcely even recognize themselves. Why do you think both Shelley and Brontë are so obsessed by this theme? Why are so many of the c...

NOTE: No questions this time, though we'll have an in-class response question when you arrive. Read as much as you can, and as you read, consider whether  Nelly is the true ‘villain’ behind the plot of Wuthering Heights .   This is not to say that either Heathcliff or Catherine are ‘good,’ since they might be quite amoral or villainous in their own right.   However, can we argue that Nelly creates the tragedy for many of the characters in Chapters 12-17?    Even if you don’t completely agree with this, where might you see Nelly acting behind the scenes, or willfully misleading the characters and/or the reader?   Happy reading! :)