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What’s this? WHO ARE MODERN WRITERS ?

Delve into the world of modern writers and Victorian literature, focusing on societal changes, romanticism, and the Brontë sisters' captivating lives.

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What’s this? WHO ARE MODERN WRITERS ?

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  1. Welcome (back)!!! What’s this?WHO ARE MODERN WRITERS?

  2. Modern Writers

  3. Modern Literature • Technological invention and capitalism • Loss of traditional values& maintaining human dignity • Social alienation & artistic innovation

  4. Late Victorian Society George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) • Pygmalion (1912) -- Social Mobility; the Rise of the Working Class -- critique of the Middle Class Morality, Respectability and Manners

  5. Victorian SocietyGrowing Popularity of Novels for Middle Classes Robert Browning ( 1812 – 1889) Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 –1892)

  6. The Romantics

  7. Jane Eyre: Intro The Bronte Sisters – Lives of Isolation vs. Stories of Aspiration Left to Right: Anne (29), Emily (30) and Charlotte (38) Painted by Branwell (31)

  8. Outline • Introduction • 1) Brontë Sisters • 2) Jane Eyre, Main Concerns and CB’s Life • 3) Social Background; • 4) Adaptations • Chaps 1-4: Jane’s Social Position vs. Her Cousins’ • Chaps 5-10: Jane’s Education vs. Helen Burns’ and The Roles of Nature • Housekeeping

  9. The Brontë Sisters: Life of Isolation, Deaths and Misfortunes • Ref. Brontë Country: The Story of Emily, Charlotte & Anne Brontëending • 1821–Mother died • 1825 -- Maria’s and Elizabether’s deaths in the Clergy Daughters School (22:04 Cowan Bridge School ) • [publication of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre in 1847] • Sept. 1848-- Branwell died. ( John Reed) • Dec. 1848 -- Emily died. • May 1849 – Ann, too, died. Charlotte, as a novelist of several books, became acquainted with Mrs. Gaskell & William Thackeray. • 1855-- Charlotte died in childbirth.

  10. Their Efforts • Receive education at school twice, where Emily was a misfit • Anne and Charlotte worked as governesses and teachers at several places, while Emily only served as teacher for a short while • 1842-- In order to prepare to set up their own school (for young girls), Charlotte and Emily travelled to Brussels, Belgium, to enroll at the boarding school and Charlotte fell in love with the  French teacher, Constantin Heger (married) there. This story inspired the novel The Professor.

  11. Literary Aspiration in Lonely and Drab Lives • 1845 --Charlotte came by accident upon a number of poems that Emily had written. 39:07 • 1846 –The 3 sisters published their poems, at their own expense, as poems by Crurrer, Ellis and Acton Bell. (Only 2 copies of the poems were sold.) • 1847 -- Anne’s novel Agnes Grey& Emily’s Wuthering Heightswere both accepted for publication, while Charlotte’s first novel The Professorwas rejected by one publisher after another. … Jane Eyre, was published in October. It was immediately very popular, outselling Wuthering Heights …. (40:00…)

  12. The Bronte Sisters (1979) • 4:32—the painting, and Emily and Ann out in nature (rose vs. holy bush) • 14:00—letter from Robert Southey • 1:10 – Emily’s poems  1:16 publication of their novels 1:38 –illness and death of Emily 1:50 – Charlotte at the concert hall

  13. 2) The Brontë Sisters Other Documentaries: • In search of the Brontes Part 1 - 1/6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGgl-HtrmM • The Death Of Emily Bronte http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dehmUqIxgjU&feature=related

  14. Major Questions re. Jane Eyre • I. Self-Development • Jane Eyre’s Quest/Jane Eyre as a bildungsroman: what does she desire? How does she quest for what she desires? Has she achieved it? Is she in any way compromised? • Passion and Conscience: How does she deal with her passion? Drawing, interior monologue… • Is the novel feminist*? Its colonial implications? (The role of Bertha) The Gothic… • II. Social Issues: • Religion, Charity and Polite Society: Do they support or obstruct Jane’s quest? • Society and Class Differences: how are social identities (e.g. The Reeds, Bessie, Helen Burns, etc.) and social problems (Lowood) presented? • III. Jane Eyre the narrator: how does she position herself between Jane the character and the reader?

  15. Note: A True Lady is… • Jane: [women should not be confined] 'to making pudding and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags‘ (XII) • a true lady is . . . sweet and delicate and refined. . . her sphere is to cheer, to refine, to beautify, to bless. The opportunities and influence she may acquire (by behaving thus), she may turn to the noblest and holiest purposes. ---- Hints on Etiquette (1843) Charles William Day

  16. Victorian Society: Women’s Limited Education • women not educated  women physically and mentally unfit for serious intellectual pursuits. • At home, taught by mothers or governesses • boarding schools • Jane charity schools • (X: 80) A lady’s education –appearance, painting, piano. • The Brontë sisters and other female writers use pseudonyms

  17. Victorian Society (2) Women’s Positions 2) strict division of jobs, given very few job opportunities 3) Marriage and Inheritance  women seen as men’s property Consequences • Contradictions between social prosperity and social problems (e.g. prostitutes) • Women – angel in the house vs. fallen women

  18. Jane Eyre : Quest & Location Names • 1-4 -- Gateshead Hall • 5-10– Lowood Institution • 11-19 -- Thornfield Hall • 20-27-- (21—back to Mrs. Reed) • 28-39 – Leaving Thornfield  Moor House at Marsh End  (back to Thornfield  37 Ferndean Manor)

  19. Locations Haddon Hall (2011) ‘The Rydings' – Ellen Nussey's early home; The manor house that inspired Brontë’s creation of Thornfield Hall. From Jane Eyre, vol. 1 (1905).

  20. Traces of Jane Eyre in Charlotte Bronte’s Life "Overview: Jane Eyre." Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Vol. 2: Civil Wars to Frontier Societies (1800-1880s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Oct. 2012.

  21. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre Similarities • Bleak and gloomy natural environment • Heathcliff and Rochester as Byronic Heroes + Villains • Catherine’s (of two generations) and Jane Eyre experience domestication Differences • Wuthering Heights – “wildness” presented as ghosts and in landscape • Jane Eyre – Bertha dead, and the protagonists tamed.

  22. Filmic Adaptations

  23. Filmic Adaptations • 1944, 1983, 1996, 1997 and 2006– Rochester’s performances ranked here • 5th --1996: Film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring William Hurt as Mr Rochester, Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane, • 4th -- 1997: TV adaptation directed by Robert Young and starring Laura Harling as Jane and Ciarán Hinds as Mr Rochester • 3th -- 1944: Black and white film directed by Robert Stevenson, with a screenplay by John Houseman and Aldous Huxley. It features Orson Welles as Mr Rochester, Joan Fontaine as Jane • 2nd -- 1983: Television mini series directed by Julian Amyes starring Zelah Clarke as Jane and Timothy Dalton as Mr Rochester • 1st -- 2006: BBC mini series directed by Susanna White starring Ruth Wilson as Jane and Toby Stephens as Mr Rochester (source) 2011: Film directed by Cary Fukunaga starring Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre and Michael Fassbender as Rochester

  24. Jane Eyre Revisions 19th century governess story  Rebecca  庭院深深 Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)

  25. Using the films to • Help visualize the story and • Understand the importance of the novel’s narration. • 1983 – 1-3 Jane’s changes in responses • 2011 – John River vs. Jane

  26. Jane Eyre Chaps I-X: Girl’s Education – duty and self-denial or a pursuit of liberty and knowledge

  27. Chaps 1-4: Discussion Questions • (6) How is Jane positioned socially? How is she opposed to her cousins and treated by her aunts and the servants? • (3) How does Jane respond to her loneliness and mistreatment? Do you find her “passionate,” “realistic” or “childish”? • (2) What are the significances of the red room? • (7) What roles do Nature play in this part of the novel? • (1) And books?

  28. Chaps 5-10: Discussion Questions • (4) What kind of school is Lowood? Does it in any way resemble any school you know of or have been to? • (9) How are the teachers (Ms. Temple, Miss Scatcherd and Ms. Miller) in Lowood presented? How about the supervisor, Mr. Brocklehurst? 8-9.How and why are Helen (8—(5))and Jane (9(8))punished respectively? How do they respond to being punished? 10. (10) What are the turning points in Jane’s pursuit of liberty and a better life?

  29. Jane in The Reed Family • Mrs. Reed (I: 5) – “contented, happy, little children”;does not like “cavillers or questioners” • John (I: 7-9): fight & bully • The servants (II: 9-10; 14) – be useful and pleasant • Georgiana & Eliza (II: 12; VI 24) [later] X: 79

  30. Jane’s responses Alternates between rebelliousness and self-denial 1. “shrined in double retirement” (I: 5) 2. Reed vs. Jane (I: 7-9) habitually obedient to John, “in frantic sort” -- revolted slave (II) 3. Asserts herself (III: 19) I cry because I am miserable. 4. Argues against Mrs. Reed but then regret (IV: 28-)

  31. red room (II: 10-11;13-14) and the pattern of Jane’s Pursuit

  32. Red Room • Reflects Jane’s -- discontent (“why was I always suffering” II: 12), -- difference/detachment from them (“a discord, ..nobody, a heterogeneous thing” 12) -- her mood of “humiliation, self-doubt and forlorn disposition” 13) -- fear of ghost -- fear of self? (the mirror p. 13-14)

  33. Nature & Books Nature Books History of British Birds Romance: stories of love and adventures Gulliver’s Travels (III: 17)—induces her melancholy Rasselas (V: 42-43) –thirst for knowledge, but the book seems dull for her • I: 5-7– wild imagination – roaming to a wide world filled with energies and desolation • V: 41; IX 65-66-67 garden  wood

  34. Self, Nature & the Supernatural • Red room (II: 14): Was it, I asked myself, a ray from the moon penetrating some aperture in the blind? No; moonlight was still, and this stirred: while I gazed, it glided up to the ceiling and quivered over my head.” • Garden (V: 41); VI: 47: the wind outside the window a strange excitement • (IX: 67) ramble in the wood • (X: 74): Jane looks out the window again: “I desired liberty”

  35. Lowood School Chapter V& Chap IX • Uniformity & Discipline: 80 girls dressed in uniforms; “the whole school rose simultaneously, as if moved by a common spring.” (40) • Long-hour Classes (38; 41) • With scanty and tasteless food 38 (a thin oaten cake, using the same mug), burnt porridge (39)

  36. Teachers overall picture (V. 40) none of whom precisely pleased me; for the stout one was a little coarse, the dark one not a little fierce, the foreigner harsh and grotesque, and Miss Miller, poor thing! looked purple, weather-beaten, and over-worked Indoctrination and Punishment Wise Judgment and Sympathy Miss Temple – Chap V: 41 & VIII: 61 • Miss Scatcherd –Chap VI—punishments • Mr. Brocklehurst (VII 54 -55; 56)—few supplies, no curls, “suffer hunger or thirst”

  37. Helen Burns vs. Jane Helen • Punished V 44; VI 46, • VI: Your duty to bear (48-49) • Love your enemy (50); you’d be happier if you forget her severity • More next slide… Jane V: 44 “How can she bear it so quietly…” VII: 50 Good to those who are good to you. VIII: 64

  38. (VIII: 60) Helen Burns persuasive • Take a broader perspective: Why, there are only eighty people who have heard you called so, and the world contains hundreds of millions • Against authority: Mr. B is not a god • Individualism: trust your conscience • Keep faith in the invisible world

  39. Helen Burns: a devout Christian believing in the afterlife (IX: 70-) • J: “Where is God? What is God?” • ... • “You are sure, then, Helen, that there is such a place as heaven, and that our souls can get to it when we die?” • “I am sure there is a future state; I believe God is good; I can resign my immortal part to Him without any misgiving. God is my father; God is my friend: I love Him; I believe He loves me.” • “And shall I see you again, Helen, when I die?” • “You will come to the same region of happiness: ...” • Again I questioned, but this time only in thought. “Where is that region? Does it exist?”

  40. Turning Points and Helpers • Mr. Lloyd introduces her to Lowood Institute • Ms. Templeclears her name, motivates her to make further progress. • Helen and Ms. Temple’s reading of classical literature broadens her horizon

  41. Housekeeping (1) • Next week • on dramatic monologues (look for “Porphyria’s Lover” online) • Workstation choices due • Class Requirements (see here) • Teach and Learn May 1st from 8:10 – 12:00

  42. Housekeeping (2) Class Management: • Please take turns to help put the seats in order before class (8:30) • Attendance records will be updated regularly; quiz scores imported to EngSite • Group discussion will be graded by Julia and Andrew • In Class, the groups will alternate to do presentation or to input discussion record at Zuvio

  43. (3/20) on Jane Eyre • Jane Eyre Chap XI-XIX (100 pages)—Thornfield: Service vs. Pursuit of Love and Liberty • Show Time choices due

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