Overview: Go back to our first blog, and walk through the 2018-2019 school year. Revisit the books we read and our class responses. Look on Turnitin.com and review your past essays. What did you learn this year? What are the life lessons? Think about the "All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" posters. Use that format here, and expound on how you will take the wisdom of Survey of British Literature with you into the great beyond. Please follow the format and rubric below:
2) Select a cross-section of five of the works above, and make a list of the five substantial quotations that mirror life lessons you obtained from our class.
3) Using the bullet list, compose a fat paragraph for each one, using direct evidence from the text and other texts. These paragraphs should look like comprehensive blog responses or body paragraphs for a formal essay. Make personal connections to the characters and your own experiences. What will you do in your life now that you have been touched by these works?
4) Include a conclusion where you describe your overall experience in class. You may even choose a paraphrased quotation from Mr. P. as your heading. What books were your favorites? What were your favorite units? Lessons? Projects?
4) When all five paragraphs and your conclusion are complete, post them to the blog. Make sure to keep the quotations. It will most likely need to be spread out to 2-3 posts, as it will be a lot of words.
5) On exam day, we will spend half the class reading other's responses and responding. The second half we will have our final discussion and say our temporary goodbyes. We will also discuss the summer reading list and some British Literature suggestions by Mr. P.
2) Compose your final reflection using direct evidence from the text. Please use elements of Joseph Cambell's 17 Stages of Monomyth in your response. See the image below. I look forward to your responses.
3) Compose a blog response, using at least six questions (two from each section). Use direct examples from the text.
Introduction and the Battle with Grendel
1. What are your first impressions of Beowulf?
2. In a few paragraphs, analyze the purpose of the prologue, or introduction, to Beowulf. How does it set the stage for the action that follows?
3. Why does Hrothgar build Herot? Why doesn’t it collapse when Beowulf engages Grendel in combat? What might its collapse have symbolized?
4. How did Hrothgar come to know Beowulf’s father? Do you think that Beowulf feels indebted to Hrothgar for his past kindnesses to the family? Explain.
5. Briefly describe Grendel. What might Grendel symbolize?
6. Contrast Beowulf and Unferth. What function does Unferth serve in the poem?
7. Based on Welthow’s actions in the poem, what role or roles do you think women played in Anglo-Saxon society?
8. Describe the battle between Grendel and Beowulf. Do you find anything meaningful in this exchange? Metaphorical? Have you seen this “battle” in other works of fiction? How is it different? Same?
9. In your opinion, would the story be better if it were written in prose rather than verse? Explain.
10. Some readers view Beowulf as a boastful glory seeker. Other readers view Beowulf as a noble, selfless man.
11. Using the author’s descriptions of Grendel, develop a psychological profile. Describe the monster’s personality and possible motivations for his behavior.
Grendel’s Mother
12. Describe Grendel’s lair. (give 3 specific details)
13. What is Grendel’s mother’s motivation for going to Herot? Be specific.
14. After celebrating Beowulf’s victory, what occurs at Herot?
15. Name 2 things Grendel’s mother carried back to her lair from Herot.
16. What do the Danes entreat Beowulf to do? What would be his reward?
Battle With Grendel’s Mother
17. Where does Beowulf find Grendel’s mother?
18. What protects him from her claws?
19. What was Beowulf’s motivation in accomplishing this deed? (lines 485-486)
20. What happens to Beowulf’s helmet?
21. How does Beowulf kill Grendel’s mother? What was the exact weapon?
22. After Beowulf kills her, what does he do before leaving the lair?
23. What do the Danes who are observing at the lake do? Why?
24. What do the Geats do?
25. What 2 items does Beowulf carry with him back to Herot?
The chart above shows samples of the changes in the English language.
#1 is Old English or AngloSaxon (circa 450-1066 CE).
#2 is Middle English (circa 1066-1450 AD).
#3 is Modern English from about the time of Shakespeare.
#4 is another sample of Modern English, but it is more recent than #3.
Background: Old English Poetry & "Beowulf"
Beowulf is the idealized warrior of a heroic age and the exemplar of what the Anglo-Saxons chiefly admired as masculine qualities. He is fearless but not foolhardy, uncomplicated but intelligent, serious but not dull. He is thoroughly adjusted in mind and body to a soldierly code and a “kill and get killed” expectancy. His stolid, essentially pessimistic view of life is reinforced by the author of the work with nature scenes of somber magnificence. Ironically, the first great work of English literature is set entirely in Scandinavia without any mention of England or the English.
Definition: Epic or Heroic Poem
A long narrative poem on a great and serious subject, related in an elevated style, and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race. Characteristics of Old English Verse
1. Four stress line. Each line of Anglo-Saxon verse contained four accented syllables.
2. A pause or caesura divided each line into two staves . Each stave contained two stressed syllables.
3. Alliteration to bind the line together and reinforce rhythmic effect.
4. Repetition through synonymous words or phrases. This parallelism resembles that of Old Testament Hebraic poetry and allows for much of the same kind of stately, solemn progress and emphasis.
5. End-stopping of the lines.
6. The use of the kenning, a compound word of metaphoric quality.
Examples:
swan-road = the sky
battle-sweat = blood
peace-weaver = wife / mother
ring-giver = generous king
7. Specialized poetic vocabulary which employed words unfamiliar to current conversation.
8. An elevated and aristocratic tone pervaded, since poetry was primarily intended for recital with harp accompaniment to gathered nobles and warriors in mead halls.
9. A rapid narrative style, which often omitted explanatory details and abruptly turned from one event to another.
10. Oral, not written composition . The scop (poet) composed and the gleeman (minstrel) chanted OE verses long before they were committed to manuscript.
Pagan & Christian Elements in "Beowulf"
Pagan elements in "Beowulf," include:
The dead are cremated
Omens are observed to direct human conduct
Sacrifices are vowed at the temple of idols
The praise of worldly glory
The theme of blood vengeance
Frequent references to the power of Wyrd (fate)
However, the "Beowulf" poet shows knowledge of and employs terminology from the Christian Scriptures and liturgy.
Cain (putative ancestor of Grendel
Giants before the flood
The deluge
Satan
Virtues of moderation, unselfishness, and service to others are highly praised
The final tribute to Beowulf by his faithful thane
I am speaking on behalf of the other two Bronte sisters. Charlotte experienced the most attention due to the immediate success of Jane Eyre. She also wrote more, since she lived the longest and matured by the time she produced Villette. There is no doubt, Charlotte had the ambition to be an artist. However, we cannot forget the other two. First, there is Emily, who has become somewhat of an icon with her one novel Wuthering Heights, and her exceptional poetry. There is also Anne, who is the other of the two other sisters. Only recently have people given The Tenant of Wildfell Hall its proper due.
Obviously, my thesis is that someone should speak for these two brilliant artists even if no one in the class wishes to. I want you to see what I appreciate when I read these two brilliant authors. More specifically, I cite for Emily the original voice in her poetry, which also speaks in her use of dialogue to create moments that are both tragic and unique in literature. I defy you to find a more interesting novel during its time. For Anne, I content that her second novel is feminist, not merely for the plot surrounding a woman leaving her husband, but even the form of the novel which is an inversion of Pride and Prejudice in many ways.
I will begin with a poem that I believe captures what I love most about the spirit of the Bronte sisters. This poem also touches me personally, and I read it aloud often:
“The Old Stoic” By Emily Bronte
Riches I hold in light esteem, And Love I laugh to scorn; And lust of fame was but a dream, That vanished with the morn:
And if I pray, the only prayer That moves my lips for me Is, "Leave the heart that now I bear, And give me liberty!"
Yes, as my swift days near their goal: ’Tis all that I implore; In life and death a chainless soul, With courage to endure.
The only thing I need is not as Petrarch often stated, love. It is liberty. We all long to be free, don’t we? How to be free and be united with someone is the problem of our age.
I will begin with Wuthering Heights. In the following scene, Nelly recounts the fallout between Catherine and Heathcliff. Heathcliff was outside, and Catherine tells Nelly of her plans to marry Linton, the handsome cousin from Thrushcross Grange. Please note narrative voices, as well as the powerful voice of Catherine as she declares not romantic love, but understanding another human being:
(Catherine Earnshaw) ‘Nay; you are making a jest of it: it is exceedingly ill-natured! It’s no jest to me!’ said the young lady, scowling, and turning her face to the fire.
(Nelly, narrating to Mr. Lockwood. She is the housekeeper and seen it all) ‘I’m very far from jesting, Miss Catherine,’ I replied. ‘You love Mr. Edgar because he is handsome, and young, and cheerful, and rich, and loves you. The last, however, goes for nothing: you would love him without that, probably; and with it you wouldn’t, unless he possessed the four former attractions.’
‘No, to be sure not: I should only pity him—hate him, perhaps, if he were ugly, and a clown.’
‘But there are several other handsome, rich young men in the world: handsomer, possibly, and richer than he is. What should hinder you from loving them?’
‘If there be any, they are out of my way: I’ve seen none like Edgar.’
‘You may see some; and he won’t always be handsome, and young, and may not always be rich.’
‘He is now; and I have only to do with the present. I wish you would speak rationally.’
‘Well, that settles it: if you have only to do with the present, marry Mr. Linton.’
‘I don’t want your permission for that—I shall marry him: and yet you have not told me whether I’m right.’
‘Perfectly right; if people be right to marry only for the present. And now, let us hear what you are unhappy about. Your brother will be pleased; the old lady and gentleman will not object, I think; you will escape from a disorderly, comfortless home into a wealthy, respectable one; and you love Edgar, and Edgar loves you. All seems smooth and easy: where is the obstacle?’
‘Here! and here!’ replied Catherine, striking one hand on her forehead, and the other on her breast: ‘in whichever place the soul lives. In my soul and in my heart, I’m convinced I’m wrong! ’If I were in heaven, Nelly, I should be extremely miserable.’
‘Because you are not fit to go there,’ I answered. ‘All sinners would be miserable in heaven.’
‘But it is not for that. I dreamt once that I was there.’
‘I tell you I won’t hearken to your dreams, Miss Catherine! I’ll go to bed,’ I interrupted again.
She laughed, and held me down; for I made a motion to leave my chair.
‘This is nothing,’ cried she: ‘I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung me out into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke sobbing for joy. That will do to explain my secret, as well as the other. I’ve no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn’t have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.’
Ere this speech ended I became sensible of Heathcliff’s presence. Having noticed a slight movement, I turned my head, and saw him rise from the bench, and steal out noiselessly. He had listened till he heard Catherine say it would degrade her to marry him, and then he stayed to hear no further. My companion, sitting on the ground, was prevented by the back of the settle from remarking his presence or departure; but I started, and bade her hush!
‘Why?’ she asked, gazing nervously round.
‘Joseph is here,’ I answered, catching opportunely the roll of his cartwheels up the road; ‘and Heathcliff will come in with him. I’m not sure whether he were not at the door this moment.’
‘Oh, he couldn’t overhear me at the door!’ said she. ‘Give me Hareton, while you get the supper, and when it is ready ask me to sup with you. I want to cheat my uncomfortable conscience, and be convinced that Heathcliff has no notion of these things. He has not, has he? He does not know what being in love is!’
‘I see no reason that he should not know, as well as you,’ I returned; ‘and if you are his choice, he’ll be the most unfortunate creature that ever was born! As soon as you become Mrs. Linton, he loses friend, and love, and all! Have you considered how you’ll bear the separation, and how he’ll bear to be quite deserted in the world? Because, Miss Catherine—’
‘He quite deserted! we separated!’ she exclaimed, with an accent of indignation. ‘Who is to separate us, pray? They’ll meet the fate of Milo! Not as long as I live, Ellen: for no mortal creature. Every Linton on the face of the earth might melt into nothing before I could consent to forsake Heathcliff. Oh, that’s not what I intend—that’s not what I mean! I shouldn’t be Mrs. Linton were such a price demanded! He’ll be as much to me as he has been all his lifetime. Edgar must shake off his antipathy, and tolerate him, at least. He will, when he learns my true feelings towards him. Nelly, I see now you think me a selfish wretch; but did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars? whereas, if I marry Linton I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother’s power.’
‘With your husband’s money, Miss Catherine?’ I asked. ‘You’ll find him not so pliable as you calculate upon: and, though I’m hardly a judge, I think that’s the worst motive you’ve given yet for being the wife of young Linton.’
‘It is not,’ retorted she; ‘it is the best! The others were the satisfaction of my whims: and for Edgar’s sake, too, to satisfy him. This is for the sake of one who comprehends in his person my feelings to Edgar and myself. I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is or should be an existence of yours beyond you. What were the use of my creation, if I were entirely contained here? My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff’s miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.—My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don’t talk of our separation again: it is impracticable; and—’
She paused, and hid her face in the folds of my gown; but I jerked it forcibly away. I was out of patience with her folly!
‘If I can make any sense of your nonsense, Miss,’ I said, ‘it only goes to convince me that you are ignorant of the duties you undertake in marrying; or else that you are a wicked, unprincipled girl. But trouble me with no more secrets: I’ll not promise to keep them.’
‘You’ll keep that?’ she asked, eagerly.
‘No, I’ll not promise,’ I repeated.
She was about to insist, when the entrance of Joseph finished our conversation; and Catherine removed her seat to a corner, and nursed Hareton, while I made the supper. After it was cooked, my fellow-servant and I began to quarrel who should carry some to Mr. Hindley; and we didn’t settle it till all was nearly cold. Then we came to the agreement that we would let him ask, if he wanted any; for we feared particularly to go into his presence when he had been some time alone.
‘Where is Heathcliff?’
‘I’ll call him,’ I replied. ‘He’s in the barn, I’ve no doubt.’
I went and called, but got no answer.
‘I want to speak to him, and I must, before I go upstairs,’ she said. ‘And the gate is open: he is somewhere out of hearing; for he would not reply, though I shouted at the top of the fold as loud as I could.’
It was a very dark evening for summer: the clouds appeared inclined to thunder, and I said we had better all sit down; the approaching rain would be certain to bring him home without further trouble. However, Catherine would not be persuaded into tranquility. She kept wandering to and fro, from the gate to the door, in a state of agitation which permitted no repose; and at length took up a permanent situation on one side of the wall, near the road: where, heedless of my expostulations and the growling thunder, and the great drops that began to plash around her, she remained, calling at intervals, and then listening, and then crying outright.
About midnight, while we still sat up, the storm came rattling over the Heights in full fury. There was a violent wind, as well as thunder, and either one or the other split a tree off at the corner of the building: a huge bough fell across the roof, and knocked down a portion of the east chimney-stack, sending a clatter of stones and soot into the kitchen-fire. We thought a bolt had fallen in the middle of us;
Our young lady returned to us saucier and more passionate, and haughtier than ever. Heathcliff had never been heard of since the evening of the thunder-storm;
Heathcliff leaves, only to return transformed. No one knows where he went or what he experienced, but he is well spoken, educated, and hardened. He is also described as possibly being mixed race, an orphan, and perhaps a former slave. There is something so tragic in that he never heard how Catherine truly feels about him. There is something true about that too. We sometimes never hear what people say about us. It shapes us, though. The power of words. This is why it is so important to be impeccable with our words. This novel is also about loss. Nelly is there to see the entire family die one by one. This is an experience that all the sisters felt, especially Charlotte as she was the last to survive. It is captured beautifully in a poem by Anne:
“A Reminiscence” by Anne Bronte
Yes, thou art gone and never more Thy sunny smile shall gladden me; But I may pass the old church door And pace the floor that covers thee;
May stand upon the cold, damp stone, And think that frozen lies below The lightest heart that I have known, The kindest I shall ever know.
Yet, though I cannot see thee more 'Tis still a comfort to have seen, And though thy transient life is o'er 'Tis sweet to think that thou hast been;
To think a soul so near divine, Within a form so angel fair United to a heart like thine Has gladdened once our humble sphere.
This longing can also be for a being we have yet to meet, but feel a void that must be filled. When you do meet that other half, as Gilbert meets Helen in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, it can boarder obsession. The scene I chose is from the ending. Things turn out well, as they do with Austen, but there is a major difference in narration as well as the characterization of the male and female roles. Here, Gilbert has just learned that Helen has not remarried, even though he believed otherwise. He has not spoken to her out of fear and pride. He is on a walk with Helen and her son Arthur. He is narrating to a friend, as well as us:
(Gilbert, also the narrator iof this section) There was a pause, of which Arthur thought he might venture to avail himself to introduce his handsome young setter, and show me how wonderfully it was grown and improved, and to ask after the welfare of its father Sancho. Mrs. Maxwell then withdrew to take off her things. Helen immediately pushed the book from her, and after silently surveying her son, his friend, and his dog for a few moments, she dismissed the former from the room under pretence of wishing him to fetch his last new book to show me. The child obeyed with alacrity; but I continued caressing the dog. The silence might have lasted till its master’s return, had it depended on me to break it; but, in half a minute or less, my hostess impatiently rose, and, taking her former station on the rug between me and the chimney corner, earnestly exclaimed—
(Helen) ‘Gilbert, what is the matter with you?—why are you so changed? It is a very indiscreet question, I know,’ she hastened to add: ‘perhaps a very rude one—don’t answer it if you think so—but I hate mysteries and concealments.’
‘I am not changed, Helen—unfortunately I am as keen and passionate as ever—it is not I, it is circumstances that are changed.’
‘What circumstances? Do tell me!’ Her cheek was blanched with the very anguish of anxiety—could it be with the fear that I had rashly pledged my faith to another?
‘I’ll tell you at once,’ said I. ‘I will confess that I came here for the purpose of seeing you (not without some monitory misgivings at my own presumption, and fears that I should be as little welcome as expected when I came), but I did not know that this estate was yours until enlightened on the subject of your inheritance by the conversation of two fellow-passengers in the last stage of my journey; and then I saw at once the folly of the hopes I had cherished, and the madness of retaining them a moment longer; and though I alighted at your gates, I determined not to enter within them; I lingered a few minutes to see the place, but was fully resolved to return to M— without seeing its mistress.’
‘And if my aunt and I had not been just returning from our morning drive, I should have seen and heard no more of you?’
‘I thought it would be better for both that we should not meet,’ replied I, as calmly as I could, but not daring to speak above my breath, from conscious inability to steady my voice, and not daring to look in her face lest my firmness should forsake me altogether. ‘I thought an interview would only disturb your peace and madden me. But I am glad, now, of this opportunity of seeing you once more and knowing that you have not forgotten me, and of assuring you that I shall never cease to remember you.’
There was a moment’s pause. Mrs. Huntingdon moved away, and stood in the recess of the window. Did she regard this as an intimation that modesty alone prevented me from asking her hand? and was she considering how to repulse me with the smallest injury to my feelings? Before I could speak to relieve her from such a perplexity, she broke the silence herself by suddenly turning towards me and observing—
‘You might have had such an opportunity before—as far, I mean, as regards assuring me of your kindly recollections, and yourself of mine, if you had written to me.’
‘I would have done so, but I did not know your address, and did not like to ask your brother, because I thought he would object to my writing; but this would not have deterred me for a moment, if I could have ventured to believe that you expected to hear from me, or even wasted a thought upon your unhappy friend; but your silence naturally led me to conclude myself forgotten.’
‘Did you expect me to write to you, then?’
‘No, Helen—Mrs. Huntingdon,’ said I, blushing at the implied imputation, ‘certainly not; but if you had sent me a message through your brother, or even asked him about me now and then—’
‘I did ask about you frequently. I was not going to do more,’ continued she, smiling, ‘so long as you continued to restrict yourself to a few polite inquiries about my health.’
‘Your brother never told me that you had mentioned my name.’
‘Did you ever ask him?’
‘No; for I saw he did not wish to be questioned about you, or to afford the slightest encouragement or assistance to my too obstinate attachment.’ Helen did not reply. ‘And he was perfectly right,’ added I. But she remained in silence, looking out upon the snowy lawn. ‘Oh, I will relieve her of my presence,’ thought I; and immediately I rose and advanced to take leave, with a most heroic resolution—but pride was at the bottom of it, or it could not have carried me through.
‘Are you going already?’ said she, taking the hand I offered, and not immediately letting it go.
‘Why should I stay any longer?’
‘Wait till Arthur comes, at least.’
Only too glad to obey, I stood and leant against the opposite side of the window.
‘You told me you were not changed,’ said my companion: ‘you are—very much so.’
‘No, Mrs. Huntingdon, I only ought to be.’
‘Do you mean to maintain that you have the same regard for me that you had when last we met?’
‘I have; but it would be wrong to talk of it now.’
‘It was wrong to talk of it then, Gilbert; it would not now—unless to do so would be to violate the truth.’
I was too much agitated to speak; but, without waiting for an answer, she turned away her glistening eye and crimson cheek, and threw up the window and looked out, whether to calm her own, excited feelings, or to relieve her embarrassment, or only to pluck that beautiful half-blown Christmas-rose that grew upon the little shrub without, just peeping from the snow that had hitherto, no doubt, defended it from the frost, and was now melting away in the sun. Pluck it, however, she did, and having gently dashed the glittering powder from its leaves, approached it to her lips and said:
‘This rose is not so fragrant as a summer flower, but it has stood through hardships none of them could bear: the cold rain of winter has sufficed to nourish it, and its faint sun to warm it; the bleak winds have not blanched it, or broken its stem, and the keen frost has not blighted it. Look, Gilbert, it is still fresh and blooming as a flower can be, with the cold snow even now on its petals.—Will you have it?’
I held out my hand: I dared not speak lest my emotion should overmaster me. She laid the rose across my palm, but I scarcely closed my fingers upon it, so deeply was I absorbed in thinking what might be the meaning of her words, and what I ought to do or say upon the occasion; whether to give way to my feelings or restrain them still. Misconstruing this hesitation into indifference—or reluctance even—to accept her gift, Helen suddenly snatched it from my hand, threw it out on to the snow, shut down the window with an emphasis, and withdrew to the fire.
‘Helen, what means this?’ I cried, electrified at this startling change in her demeanour.
‘You did not understand my gift,’ said she—‘or, what is worse, you despised it. I’m sorry I gave it you; but since I did make such a mistake, the only remedy I could think of was to take it away.’
‘You misunderstood me cruelly,’ I replied, and in a minute I had opened the window again, leaped out, picked up the flower, brought it in, and presented it to her, imploring her to give it me again, and I would keep it for ever for her sake, and prize it more highly than anything in the world I possessed.
‘And will this content you?’ said she, as she took it in her hand.
‘It shall,’ I answered.
‘There, then; take it.’
I pressed it earnestly to my lips, and put it in my bosom, Mrs. Huntingdon looking on with a half-sarcastic smile.
‘Now, are you going?’ said she.
‘I will if—if I must.’
‘You are changed,’ persisted she—‘you are grown either very proud or very indifferent.’
‘I am neither, Helen—Mrs. Huntingdon. If you could see my heart—’
‘You must be one,—if not both. And why Mrs. Huntingdon?—why not Helen, as before?’
‘Helen, then—dear Helen!’ I murmured. I was in an agony of mingled love, hope, delight, uncertainty, and suspense.
‘The rose I gave you was an emblem of my heart,’ said she; ‘would you take it away and leave me here alone?’
‘Would you give me your hand too, if I asked it?’
‘Have I not said enough?’ she answered, with a most enchanting smile. I snatched her hand, and would have fervently kissed it, but suddenly checked myself, and said,—
‘But have you considered the consequences?’
‘Hardly, I think, or I should not have offered myself to one too proud to take me, or too indifferent to make his affection outweigh my worldly goods.’
Stupid blockhead that I was!—I trembled to clasp her in my arms, but dared not believe in so much joy, and yet restrained myself to say,—
‘But if you should repent!’
‘It would be your fault,’ she replied: ‘I never shall, unless you bitterly disappoint me. If you have not sufficient confidence in my affection to believe this, let me alone.’
‘My darling angel—my own Helen,’ cried I, now passionately kissing the hand I still retained, and throwing my left arm around her, ‘you never shall repent, if it depend on me alone. But have you thought of your aunt?’ I trembled for the answer, and clasped her closer to my heart in the instinctive dread of losing my new-found treasure.
‘My aunt must not know of it yet,’ said she. ‘She would think it a rash, wild step, because she could not imagine how well I know you; but she must know you herself, and learn to like you. You must leave us now, after lunch, and come again in spring, and make a longer stay, and cultivate her acquaintance, and I know you will like each other.’
‘And then you will be mine,’ said I, printing a kiss upon her lips, and another, and another; for I was as daring and impetuous now as I had been backward and constrained before.
‘No—in another year,’ replied she, gently disengaging herself from my embrace, but still fondly clasping my hand.
‘Another year! Oh, Helen, I could not wait so long!’
‘Where is your fidelity?’
‘I mean I could not endure the misery of so long a separation.’
‘It would not be a separation: we will write every day: my spirit shall be always with you, and sometimes you shall see me with your bodily eye. I will not be such a hypocrite as to pretend that I desire to wait so long myself, but as my marriage is to please myself, alone, I ought to consult my friends about the time of it.’
‘Your friends will disapprove.’
‘They will not greatly disapprove, dear Gilbert,’ said she, earnestly kissing my hand; ‘they cannot, when they know you, or, if they could, they would not be true friends—I should not care for their estrangement. Now are you satisfied?’ She looked up in my face with a smile of ineffable tenderness.
‘Can I be otherwise, with your love? And you do love me, Helen?’ said I, not doubting the fact, but wishing to hear it confirmed by her own acknowledgment. ‘If you loved as I do,’ she earnestly replied, ‘you would not have so nearly lost me—these scruples of false delicacy and pride would never thus have troubled you—you would have seen that the greatest worldly distinctions and discrepancies of rank, birth, and fortune are as dust in the balance compared with the unity of accordant thoughts and feelings, and truly loving, sympathising hearts and souls.’
‘But this is too much happiness,’ said I, embracing her again; ‘I have not deserved it, Helen—I dare not believe in such felicity: and the longer I have to wait, the greater will be my dread that something will intervene to snatch you from me—and think, a thousand things may happen in a year!—I shall be in one long fever of restless terror and impatience all the time. And besides, winter is such a dreary season.’
‘I thought so too,’ replied she gravely: ‘I would not be married in winter—in December, at least,’ she added, with a shudder—for in that month had occurred both the ill-starred marriage that had bound her to her former husband, and the terrible death that released her—‘and therefore I said another year, in spring.’
‘Next spring?’
‘No, no—next autumn, perhaps.’
‘Summer, then?’
‘Well, the close of summer. There now! be satisfied.’
While she was speaking Arthur re-entered the room—good boy for keeping out so long.
‘Mamma, I couldn’t find the book in either of the places you told me to look for it’ (there was a conscious something in mamma’s smile that seemed to say, ‘No, dear, I knew you could not’), ‘but Rachel got it for me at last. Look, Mr. Markham, a natural history, with all kinds of birds and beasts in it, and the reading as nice as the pictures!’
In great good humour I sat down to examine the book, and drew the little fellow between my knees. Had he come a minute before I should have received him less graciously, but now I affectionately stroked his curling locks, and even kissed his ivory forehead: he was my own Helen’s son, and therefore mine; and as such I have ever since regarded him. That pretty child is now a fine young man: he has realised his mother’s brightest expectations, and is at present residing in Grassdale Manor with his young wife—the merry little Helen Hattersley of yore.
I had not looked through half the book before Mrs. Maxwell appeared to invite me into the other room to lunch. That lady’s cool, distant manners rather chilled me at first; but I did my best to propitiate her, and not entirely without success, I think, even in that first short visit; for when I talked cheerfully to her, she gradually became more kind and cordial, and when I departed she bade me a gracious adieu, hoping ere long to have the pleasure of seeing me again.
‘But you must not go till you have seen the conservatory, my aunt’s winter garden,’ said Helen, as I advanced to take leave of her, with as much philosophy and self-command as I could summon to my aid.
I gladly availed myself of such a respite, and followed her into a large and beautiful conservatory, plentifully furnished with flowers, considering the season—but, of course, I had little attention to spare for them. It was not, however, for any tender colloquy that my companion had brought me there:—
‘My aunt is particularly fond of flowers,’ she observed, ‘and she is fond of Staningley too: I brought you here to offer a petition in her behalf, that this may be her home as long as she lives, and—if it be not our home likewise—that I may often see her and be with her; for I fear she will be sorry to lose me; and though she leads a retired and contemplative life, she is apt to get low-spirited if left too much alone.’
‘By all means, dearest Helen!—do what you will with your own. I should not dream of wishing your aunt to leave the place under any circumstances; and we will live either here or elsewhere as you and she may determine, and you shall see her as often as you like. I know she must be pained to part with you, and I am willing to make any reparation in my power. I love her for your sake, and her happiness shall be as dear to me as that of my own mother.’
‘Thank you, darling! you shall have a kiss for that. Good-by. There now—there, Gilbert—let me go—here’s Arthur; don’t astonish his infantile brain with your madness.’
There is such a strength in this character. Gilbert appears like a love sick chld through much of the novel. Even here, Helen loves him, but she would not be broken if he didn’t requite her love. She is in total control of this situation. Much like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, characters do get married, but it is not the point. In fact, there is no happy ending for Heathcliff and Catherine, though it does turn out well for their descendants. These works are more about actually LIVING TOGETHER. In Wuthering Heights, life is the point. It is true in Tenant as well. We watch Helen’s marriage through her journal. Even the most cynical would have to admit she did everything she could to keep the marriage going. There is strength, here. Wisdom.
I would like to end with a poem that combines both aforementioned geniuses. It is poem written about Anne by Emily. It is a wonderful epitaph:
“Last Lines” By Emily Bronte
NO coward soul is mine, No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere: I see Heaven's glories shine, And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
O God within my breast, Almighty, ever-present Deity! Life—that in me has rest, As I—undying Life—have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds That move men's hearts: unutterably vain; Worthless as wither'd weeds, Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one Holding so fast by Thine infinity; So surely anchor'd on The steadfast rock of immortality.
With wide-embracing love Thy Spirit animates eternal years, Pervades and broods above, Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and man were gone, And suns and universes cease to be, And Thou were left alone, Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death, Nor atom that his might could render void: Thou—Thou art Being and Breath, And what Thou art may never be destroyed.
Charlotte Bronte Group: Ethan, Rebecca, Nick, Cora, Elyse
Anne and Emily Bronte Group: Mr. P.
Austen Group 1: Allison, Sydney, Talah, Sophie, Izzy, Felix
Austen Group 2: James, Monique, Eliza, Colby, Jonathan, Haywood
Austen Group 3: Chloe, Rachel, Caroline, Emily, Bill, Duc
Austen Group 4: Matt, Cole, Nikita, Tony, Will
Directions for Bronte and Austen Groups
NOTE: The five bullet points below must be composed in a google doc and posted to Turnitin.com by Tuesday, May 21st. This is worth a substantial part of the debate grade. You will not merely choose a scene and "wing it."
1) Create a thesis. Why is your work/author of choice superior? Use your two written research essays as a basis for your arguments. Revisit the texts as a group. When you develop a group thesis, remember: Be precise. Focus on form and nuances! It cannot be just plot based. As a group, compose an opening statement to be read to the class.
2) Select a brief scene from your novel of choice to prove your thesis. Select a definite beginning, middle, and end to your passage. Print out copies of your selection. Select "actors" to read parts aloud, with feeling. Check in with other groups to ensure we are not repeating scenes.
3) Create a commentary of the aforementioned scene, citing specifics. Be analytical. Be bold. Be brilliant. Be persuasive! Produce a refined written copy to present to the class.
4) Repeat steps 2 & 3 with at least one other example from your selection of choice. You could also select a scene from the opposing side and show how it does not quite add up when coupled with your example. Be prepared to make edits when we are actually sharing out work.
5) Make your final summation. Prepare a written statement. A conclusion. Be formal, but personal. Confident, but classy.
Directions for Owen Williams as Moderator
1) Introduction: Welcome us to the debate. Tell us what you expect from Mr. P and your classmates in terms of the non-aggression pact. We must be civil. Compose a brief introductory speech.
2) Create a thesis. Why should we view these two authors as equals? Use your two written research essays as a basis for your argument. When you develop a thesis, remember: Be precise. Focus on form and nuances! It cannot be just plot based. Compose an opening statement to be read to the class.
3) Select one brief scene from one Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre. Tell us about the scenes and why you think they are important. This need not be written. Just share your insights.
3) Make your final summation. Prepare a brief written statement about why each author should be celebrated as equals. A conclusion. Be formal, but personal. Confident, but classy.
4) Who "won?" Though both are of equal importance, based on the arguments of your classmates, which author wins this debate: Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters? At the end of the debates, you will be asked to give us your opinion.
Overview: I am thinking about our Bronte vs. Austen seminar, and I will need to make groups. I cannot ensure all students will be able to argue based on personal beliefs, but I would like to try. In this space, please list your first, second, and third choices. Choose from the list below:
From Boston Public Library: Search under Literature, Books, and Reading, including Gale Virtual Reference Library - Contains over 1,000 volumes of scholarly reference.
Google Scholar - In the top left hand corner, you can also save and organize information.
Ripping the Guts from a Text - A quick way to "read" a text during the research process. Read the preface, table of contents, as well as the introduction and conclusion of each chapter.
IF - The "influence factor" is important. You can find out the importance of a source by how many scholars use it as a reference. It is not just about the source. It's tracing it back, and finding the history and context around the subject. Look for "Cited by" in your Google search and it will give you a number of times it has been cited.
Review of Literature - This is a good search phrase that may point you to collections of scholarly journals, biographies, etc.
Peer Review of Journal - This search will help you see what groups of scholars are writing about sources to see if it has literary merit.
Book Reviews - This is a good search phrase to use. Often a collection of major texts will come out at a time, and a researcher will review all the texts. For example, there is a review of three Bronte biographies in The Atlantic Monthly. Reading the review will give you a breadth of information on the books, as well as knowledge of the recent and past scholarship.
Overview: The poetry club would like to put together an AHS Literary Magazine.We are accepting submissions of poems,
artwork, and short fiction.We would
also like to include a section where students share their favorite poems with a brief
paragraph describing its significance for said student.We are also looking for any students who would like to be involved in
compiling and editing the book with us.There
will be informational meetings on Wednesday after school in room 201 with me.
Further, we are looking for anyone interested in
attending the LTAB poetry workshop Cypher at Emerson College on Saturday, May 4th
with Mr. Pellerin.It is an opportunity to
engage in poetry workshops with published authors and young people from
surrounding towns.Please see me for
details.
Overview: In December, we composed literary analysis essays for Jane Austen using Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion and list of other sources. We are about to engage in a project where we have a debate the best author, either Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Anne Bronte, or Charlotte Bronte. This formal essay assignment is the first step in that process.
Directions: Please reread the prompts, below. Next, go to Turnitin.com and read your Jane Austen Literary Analysis Essay. USING THE SAME PROMPT you used for the Austen essay, please continue your analysis, this time using your Bronte work. Feel free to use the same framework and essay outline. Just focus on the Bronte novel for this exercise. In the future, we will be looking at why one is stronger than the other. Use additional sources if you can. Use MLA style, and visit the links below. When you finish your essay, please post it to Turnitin.com. When we engage in our group projects, each student will have two essays on the same topic, and we will turn those pieces into our arguments and counterarguments.
Prompt 1. In many novels, a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the novel. Choose a novel with a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: what the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the novel and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the novel.
Prompt 2. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work. Prompt 3. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Prompt 4. Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.
Prompt 5. In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or a confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the confidant or confidante can be as much "the reader's friend as the protagonist's." However, the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well. Choose a confidant or confidante from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you discuss the various ways this character functions in the work. You may write your essay on one of the following novels or plays or on another of comparable quality. Do not write on a poem or short story.
Prompt 6. Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Overview: Our final project for this unit will be an open debate between Team Bronte and Team Austen. We will watch an actual literary debate and use it as a model for our class project.
Directions: Please watch the video. In your blog response, please explore the following questions: Who do you think won the argument? What examples and insights won you over. Did you see any missteps? Remember, you may personally disagree; you are looking at the examples and techniques used to make the argument. Next, can you think of any Austen or Bronte points you would like to make? What scenes would you like to read aloud and perform while making your argument?
Directions: Please finish reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. (Below, you will find the complete text and an audiobook.) Next, compose a COMPREHENSIVE blog response using the questions below as a guide. Use at least 3-4 direct quotations in your response, and make sure to cover a little something from the beginning, middle, and end of the section. As always, read and engage with each other. I look forward to your responses.
NOTE: When you come to class on Wednesday, April 24th, you will be composing an in-class essay on your novel. Be prepared!
1. What is the balance of power between Jane and Rochester when they marry? Does this balance change from the beginning of the marriage to the time ten years later that Jane describes at the end of the novel?
2. In a romantic relationship, does one partner inevitably dominate the other?
3. Should an individual who holds a position of authority be granted the respect of others, regardless of his or her character?
4. In Jane Eyre, nothing can better show a man's moral worth than the way in which he treats the women in his life. How is Rochester's character reflected in the way he treats Jane, Adele, Bertha Mason, and Miss Ingram, and in his reported treatment of Celine Varens? How is St. John's character reflected in the way he treats Jane, Miss Oliver, and Diana and Mary? Why does this serve as such a good gauge of a man's morality and worth? What other relationships serve similar functions in the novel?
5. Throughout the novel, questions of identity are raised. From her identity as an orphan and stranger in the hostile environment of Gateshead Hall to that of a ward of the church at Lowood; from her being a possible wife of Rochester, then of St. John, to being the cousin of Diana and Mary, Jane is constantly in transition. Trace these changes in identity and how they affect Jane's view of herself and the world around her. Describe the final discovery of her identity that becomes apparent in the last chapter of the novel and the events that made that discovery possible.
6. Throughout the novel, Charlotte Brontë uses biblical quotes and religious references. From the church-supported school she attended that was run by Mr. Brocklehurst to the offer of marriage she receives from St. John, she is surrounded by aspects of Christianity. How does this influence her throughout her development? How do her views of God and Christianity change from her days as a young girl to the end of the novel? How is religion depicted in the novel, positively or negatively?
7. Many readers of Jane Eyre feel that the story is composed of two distinct parts, different in tone and purpose. The first part (chapters 1-11) concerns her childhood at Gateshead and her life at Lowood; the second part is the remainder of the story. Is creating such a division justified? Is there a genuine difference of tone and purpose between the two sections as they have been described? Some critics and readers have suggested that the first part of Jane Eyre is more arresting because it is more directly autobiographical. Do you find this to be true?
8. Upon publication, great speculation arose concerning the identity of the author of Jane Eyre, known only by the pen name Currer Bell. Questions as to the sex of the author were raised, and many critics said that they believed it to be the work of a man. One critic of her time said, "A book more unfeminine, both in its excellence and defects, it would be hard to find in the annals of female authorship. Throughout there is masculine power, breadth and shrewdness, combined with masculine hardness, coarseness, and freedom of expression." Another critic of the day, Elizabeth Rigby, said that if it was the product of a female pen, then it was the writing of a woman "unsexed." Why was there such importance placed on the sex of the author and why was it questioned so readily? What does it mean that people believed it to be the product of a man rather than of a woman?
9. Scenes of madness and insanity are among the most important plot devices in Jane Eyre. From the vision Jane sees when locked in the bedroom at Gateshead to her hearing the "goblin laughter" she attributes to Grace Poole, to the insanity and wretchedness of Bertha Mason, madness is of central importance to the plot and direction of the story. Give examples of madness in the text, and show how they affect the reader's understanding of the character experiencing the madness and how these examples affect the reader's understanding of the characters witnessing it.
10. There is probably no single line in the whole of Jane Eyre that has, in itself, attracted as much critical attention as the first line of the last chapter: "Reader, I married him." Why is the phrasing of this line so important? How would the sense be different-for the sentence and for the novel as a whole-if the line read, "Reader, we were married"?
Directions: Please finish reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. (Below, you will find the complete text and an audiobook.) Next, compose a COMPREHENSIVE blog response using the questions below as a guide. Use at least 3-4 direct quotations in your response, and make sure to cover a little something from the beginning, middle, and end of the section. As always, read and engage with each other. I look forward to your responses.
NOTE: When you come to class on Wednesday, April 24th, you will be composing an in-class essay on your novel. Be prepared!
1. To what extent do you think the setting of the novel contributes to, or informs, what takes place? Do you think the moors are a character in their own right? How do you interpret Bronte's view of nature and the landscape?
2. Discuss Emily Bronte's careful attention to a rigid timeline and the role of the novel as a sober historical document. How is this significant, particularly in light of the turbulent action within? What other contrasts within the novel strike you, and why? How are these contrasts important, and how do they play out in the novel?
3. Do you think the novel is a tale of redemption, despair, or both? Discuss the novel's meaning to you. Do you think the novel's moral content dictates one choice over the other?
4. Do you think Bronte succeeds in creating three-dimensional figures in
Heathcliff and Cathy, particularly given their larger-than-life metaphysical passion? Why or why not?
5. Discuss Bronte's use of twos: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; two families, each with two children; two couples (Catherine and Edgar, and Heathcliff and Isabella); two narrators; the doubling-up of names. What is Bronte's intention here? Discuss.
6. How do Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean influence the story as narrators? Do you think they are completely reliable observers? What does Bronte want us to believe?
7. Discuss the role of women in Wuthering Heights. Is their depiction typical of Bronte's time, or not? Do you think Bronte's characterizations of women mark her as a pioneer ahead of her time or not?
8. Who or what does Heathcliff represent in the novel? Is he a force of evil or a victim of it? How important is the role of class in the novel, particularly as it relates to Heathcliff and his life?
Directions: Please finish reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. (Below, you will find the complete text and an audiobook.) Next, compose a COMPREHENSIVE blog response using the questions below as a guide. Use at least 3-4 direct quotations in your response, and make sure to cover a little something from the beginning, middle, and end of the section. As always, read and engage with each other. I look forward to your responses.
NOTE: When you come to class on Wednesday, April 24th, you will be composing an in-class essay on your novel. Be prepared!
1. In Chapter 16, Helen's aunt uses the language and imagery of military engagement to describe courtship. How consistent is Bronte with the use of this metaphor, and why do you think she uses it?
2. Helen says that she is an excellent physiognomist: someone who can determine a person's character by their looks. Do you think Bronte supports the science of physiognomy, or is she critiquing it in her novel?
3. What do we make of Helen's thought processes in the long opening paragraph that begins Chapter 18?
4. In Chapter 18, what is the significance of the fact that Helen is unable to adequately draw Huntingdon's portrait?
5. What is the significance of hunting in this part of the novel?
6. In Chapter 20, what is the significance of the part played by Helen's uncle?
7. The early stages of Chapter 22 find Huntingdon revealing that Lowborough is a recovering gambling addict. What is the significance of his description of the evening when Lowborough finally gives up gambling?
Chapters 23-43
1. What is the significance of Helen's father being an alcoholic?
2. Why is Helen deceived by the profligate Huntingdon, and yet always seems to be on her guard against the far less offensive Hargrave?
3. What analogy can be made between Helen's difficulties in checking Hargrave's advances in the chess game and her inability to draw Huntingdon's portrait (and thereby, "contain" him)?
4. The language of chess can make for all manner of innuendo and double meaning. Support this idea with reference to the chess game between Helen and Walter.
5. What are the similarities and differences between the "Two Evenings" in Chapter 33?
6. In Chapter 37, Helen is attempting to do her best to avoid Walter Hargrave's attentions. What are some of the differences between Hargrave's pursuit of Helen, and Gilbert's pursuit of her earlier in the novel?
7. Do you ever have the sense that Helen's characterization as a moral woman goes overboard--if so, is this a weakness in Bronte's writing or is there something else at work here?
8. Why does Bronte allow Hattersley to be reformed and yet makes Huntingdon pay for his profligacy with his life?
Chapters 44-53
1. Chapter 45, in which Gilbert is reconciled both to Helen and her brother, reminds us that there are a great number of parallel episodes in the novel. What are the effects of some of these parallel scenes?
2. In Chapter 46, Gilbert takes a great deal of delight in nursing Mr. Lawrence back to health. What are the reasons he gives and what is to be made of the language with which he describes this experience?
3. In Chapter 50, Gilbert tells Halford--and therefore, us--what has happened to some of the other characters in the story. What is Bronte's point in having Gilbert do this?
4. What is to be made of the fact that the novel ends with Gilbert's voice and not Helen's? Is this merely what needs to happen from a purely structural point of view, or is there something more disturbing at work?
5. The field of literary onomastics examines the significance of names and naming in literature. What is the significance of Bronte's use of names in the novel?
Directions: Please review the first three chapters, then read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Chapters IV-IX. (Below, you will find the complete text and an audiobook.) Next, compose a blog response using the questions below as a guide. Use at least 3-4 direct quotations in your response, and make sure to cover a little something from the beginning, middle, and end of the section. As always, read and engage with each other. I look forward to your responses.
Guiding Questions for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Chapters I-IX
Review the following passage: “I began to recall what I had heard of dead men, troubled in their graves by the violation of their last wishes, revisiting the earth to punish the perjured and avenge the oppressed; and I thought Mr. Reed's spirit, harassed by the wrongs of his sister's child, might quit its abode—whether in the church vault or in the unknown world of the departed—and rise before me in this chamber. I wiped my tears and hushed my sobs, fearful lest any sign of violent grief might waken a preternatural voice to comfort me, or elicit from the gloom some haloed face, bending over me with strange pity” (16). How does this passage contribute to the gothic effects in the novel? Remember that Jane is ten years old. How typical are these insights for a child this age? Later, Jane comments that the incident gave her nerves such a shock that she feels the “reverberation to this day” (19).
Analyze the thought of a frightening childhood incident and its ability to imprint itself on a person’s long-term memory.
Review the following quotation: “I always took my doll; human beings must love something, and in the dearth of worthier objects of affection, I contrived to find a pleasure in loving and cherishing a faded graven image, shabby as a miniature scarecrow” (28). In your own words, what is Jane saying about the need for love?
Compare the religious attitudes of Helen Burns to those of Mr. Brocklehurst. With which views does Jane want her readers to agree or sympathize? Cite text to support your answer.
How do Miss Temple and Helen Burns affect Jane’s attitudes about life? Give examples to support your ideas.
Examine the harsh living conditions present at Lowood. What are some of the difficulties encountered by Jane and the other girls? What message does this send about the life of orphaned children? What statement does this make about those who are commissioned to run organizations that provide for the care of others?
Review the following passage: “If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse” (57). Do you agree with this philosophy? Why or why not? How might this be applicable in today’s society?
Jane’s appearance is alluded to in this section. How important do you think Jane feels that physical beauty is? While Jane may lack in physical beauty, what other qualities are emerging as her strengths?
Jane comments: “It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it” (111). Analyze her statement in terms of politics, women’s roles, and contemporary society.
How does Rochester treat Jane during their initial encounter? What might this foretell about how their relationship will develop?
Rochester comments, “Most things free-born will submit to anything for a salary” (137). Do you agree with his philosophy? Why or why not? From what you know of Jane, will it be true of her? Use text-based examples to support your views.
Rochester states, “Remorse is the poison of life” (138). To what extent do you agree or disagree with Rochester? Support your opinion.
Why might the events of Rochester’s life (143) have seemed shocking to Victorian readers?
Directions: Please read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Chapters I-IX. (Below, you will find the complete text and an audiobook.) Next, compose a blog response using the questions below as a guide. Use at least 3-4 direct quotations in your response, and make sure to cover a little something from the beginning, middle, and end of the section. As always, read and engage with each other. I look forward to your responses.
Why did Charlotte Bronte feel the need to write a second preface? On what grounds had reviewers criticized Emily’s work? (anonymous, unfeminine, immoral)
What explanations of her sister’s life are needed? (explanation of her solitary, unsophisticated existence) What had been reviewers' responses to the sisters' efforts?
In her earlier preface, what does Charlotte Bronte seem to believe about her sister's character? (fiercely independent, high-minded) Her book? (a work of inspired, irresistible genius)
What features does she feel the need to explain, and on what grounds? (character of Heathcliff)
What features of the novel does she admire? Would Emily have agreed with her characterizations of Nelly Dean and Heathcliff?
What may have prompted Emily Brontë to choose Mr. Lockwood as her first narrator? How is his temperament suited to inspire the reader's trust? What do we learn of his tastes and thoughts? His past behavior? (forms a contrast with the unconventional and malicious inhabitants of Wuthering Heights; like the reader, he views them from the outside)
Do any of the novel’s names carry associations?--e. g., Heathcliff or Wuthering Heights? Is it significant that the former bears no “Christian” name? What do you make of such names as Joseph and Zillow?
How does the isolation and location of the novel's northern Yorkshire setting influence the tone and events of the story? Are there symbolic elements to the descriptions of the houses and their landscapes? (e. g., guns)
What are some striking features of Lockwood's first encounter with the Heathcliff/Wuthering Heights family? Who is living there, and what forms of rudeness does each display? What unusual forms of behavior does he witness? Do they seem attached to one another?
What are advantages to the choice of Nelly Dean as the narrator of much of the family’s background? What are some of the ways in which she herself has been a participant in the tale?
To what extent is Nelly Dean a reliable narrator? A believable narrator? How does she judge some of her own past actions? At this early point in the tale, which behaviors of her employers does she favor? Does she seem fair-minded? Conventionally-minded?
What sequence of events causes Lockwood to be placed in Catherine Earnshaw Linton’s bedchamber? What are some important elements of the scene in the old bedchamber--for example, what seems the significance of the names scrawled on the windowpane? The dream in which Lockwood shatters the windowpane?
In what form does Catherine's voice enter the story? (enters through her diary--a story within a story within a story, and thus deeply true at a psychological level) What incidents and thoughts does the child-Catherine describe?
What seems the significance of the repeated forms of violence manifested by the characters?
What are some unusual structural features of the novel--its frames, multiple narrators, time gaps, and dreams? In these regards, does it remind you of other novels you have read?
Under what circumstances does Lockwood first notice that Heathcliff has shed a tear? Is this surprising, given his earlier behavior? What may have caused his pain?
How does the novel present religion? (chiefly used for purposes of repression and judgment; many references to the devil and witchcraft suggest evil rather than benign forces)
What purpose is served by the character of Joseph? What is significant about his social class and language? (speaks in Yorkshire dialect; in life the middle-class characters would also have had a regionally-inflected speech, if not as extreme a one, but their speech has been normalized, as was the custom.
What do Cathy and Hindley each desire that their father bring them from town? Are these choices symbolic? (a whip, a violin)
Why do you think Mr. Earnshaw brought home Heathcliff to his family? What does the novel indicate about Heathcliff's origins? (an orphan found in streets of Liverpool)
Do you think his account is credible? What alternate explanations could be suggested? Could Heathcliff could be an illegitimate child?
How do the other family members respond to him? (Hindley marginalizes him; Nelly mistreats him) How can you explain the negative reactions of others to him?
What do you make of the fact that he is often referred to as a "gypsy," and described as dark? Why isn’t he given a second name?
How does Nelly characterize Heathcliff’s life? (a “cuckoo’s story,” 37) What does this mean?
How does Nelly later explain her behavior to Heathcliff? Does she later change? Does she feel regret at her previous behavior?
What do we learn about Catherine’s childhood? How does she behave toward others? Who becomes her chief companion, and what do you think prompts this?
What events follow Mrs. Earnshaw’s death? (her husband dies soon after) How does the family’s life change after Mr. Earnshaw’s death soon afterwards? (Hindley marries a woman described as frail and frivolous)
How does the new Mrs. Earnshaw (Hindley’s wife) behave toward Heathcliff, and with what consequences? (deprived of education, forced to be a menial)
Under what circumstances does Catherine first visit Thrushcross Grange? Why isn’t Heathcliff permitted to enter with her? How do the Linton and Earnshaw young people respond to one another during their first visit?
What incident confirms the hostility between Heathcliff and Edgar? Who is more responsible? (Edgar first insults him; Heathcliff is first to be violent)
What does Heathcliff confide in Nelly that he regrets? What factors have caused Heathcliff's degredation? Does the novel imply that these could have been remedied? When he complains to Nelly, does she give him good advice?
Why do you think the author presents Lockwood’s praise of Nelly’s reading habits? (confirms her intelligence and reliability as narrator; literacy a class marker)
What fate is suffered by Frances Earnshaw? (dies in childbirth, giving birth to Hareton) Does this event seem consistent with other events in the novel? (outsiders don’t seem to thrive at Wuthering Heights) Do women seem to flourish in its atmosphere?
What are some consequences of her death? (Hindley degenerates into alcoholism and violence) How does Catherine behave during a visit from Edgar? (pinches Nelly, strikes Edgar) What do you make of these responses?
How does Edgar react? (forgives her) Are these events symbolic? (union begins with violence) Does the reader expect that this will be a happy union?
How does Hindley behave to his son Hareton? Had his father behaved in this way toward him? (no)
What sequence of events causes Heathcliff to leave Wuthering Heights? (Catherine’s lack of regard; he overhears her statement that to marry him would degrade her) What natural event occurs on his departure? (fall of a great tree)
What are Heathcliff's feelings toward Catherine, and to what extent are they reciprocated?
What does Catherine tell Nelly are her reactions to the thought of marriage to Edgar? Why does she intend to accept his proposal? Does she intend to separate from Heathcliff after her marriage? (assumes he will not leave her or marry) Does this seem realistic?
How does Nelly respond to Catherine’s confession? (impatient)
According to her speech to Nelly, what are her emotions toward Heathcliff? (“I am Heathcliff”) How would you interpret her speech in Freudian terms--does she feel love? Sisterhood? Possessiveness? Obsession?
How does Catherine respond to the news of Heathcliff’s departure? (falls sick) What sad event occurs when Catherine is taken to Thrushcross Grange to recuperate? (Mrs. Linton catches sick and dies) Does this outcome seem symbolic?
How does the novel treat themes of parenting and motherhood? (mothers seem weak and absent, fathers arbitrary and violent) Are there good parents in the novel? Which characters suffer from childhood neglect? What consequences follow harsh and arbitrary child-rearing practices?
