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This seminar investigates the portrayal of women in nineteenth and early twentieth century literature. In a first step, we will examine contested yet popular Victorian gender tropes such as “the angel in the house” and “the fallen women”. Drawing on lectures, conduct books, medical texts and literature, we will relate these images of women to nineteenth century discussions of gender and sexuality. In a second step, we will examine twentieth century novels that responds to Victorian gender tropes by re-invoking “the angel in the house” and also – primarily – by subverting the trope and its associations. We will compare and contrast the portrayal of women in the novels we read and further consider how these portrayals relate to (and possibly anticipate) contemporary gender theory.
The aim of this seminar is to familiarise students with the historical and literary development of gender discourses and to help them advance their critical research and close reading skills.
In preparation of the seminar please acquire and read:
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927)
Additional material will be made available on Moodle at the beginning of the semester. |
