CCLA02: Love and Marriage in 19th Century Literature

OBJECTIVES

Students in this module will gain:

• Understanding of characteristics of different literary genres
• Introduction to literary vocabulary and strategies of literary criticism
• Experience in responding to literature through analytical and argumentative writing
• Strategies for reading different genres of literature
• Familiarity with various rhetorical modes in literature and in writing about literature
• Ability to explicate primary texts
• Introduction to historical and cultural backgrounds of various texts

TOPICAL INTRODUCTION

From Gothic tales of madness and desire, to Jane Austen's arch observations on courtship, to Oscar Wilde's articulation of "the love that dare not speak its name," the period from the 1790s to the 1890s saw the development of many attitudes, conventions and representations that continue to influence thinking about love - and its possible outcomes - even today. In this course, students will learn to bring various interpretive strategies to bear on their reading of both canonical texts and lesser-known works as we consider the possibilities for love, marriage, and beyond. At the same time, students will also learn to read various types of literature: examples of fiction, prose, poetry and drama will all be covered in this course.

"If you think, from this prelude, that anything like a romance is preparing for you, reader, you never were more mistaken." So says the narrator of Charlotte Bronte's novel, Shirley. Students of this course would do well to heed this cautionary opening: rather than reading these works simply as "love stories," one of our objectives will be to read carefully to determine the many kinds of cultural work performed by literary representations of love and marriage. For example, how do issues of race, class and culture complicate the seemingly simple equation of "love and marriage?" What happens when conventions of marriage are not observed? To begin answering these and other questions, we will read two texts that approach the subject humourously: Jane Austen's Emma and Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Students will begin to develop a vocabulary from which to discuss and analyse works of literature. Next we shall consider novels in which marriage is portrayed as frightening and even deadly, such as Lady Audley's Secret, Zofloya or other examples of the gothic and sensational. Whereas the rituals of courtship and marriage were the source of comic critique in Austen and Wilde, readings in Unit 2 seem to portray these same rituals as potential sources of horror or violence. In determining why such different representations might be used, issues of genre and its connections to ideology will come into play. Finally, we will read texts that challenge and expand conventional representations of love and/or marriage. Readings will include Le Fanu's "Carmilla" (to be read alongside selected Pontianak stories) Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market," excerpts from Wilde's "De Profundis," and Singaporean short stories from the late nineteenth century. Uses of metonymy, voice, and genre will be discussed.

Throughout the course, students will develop their own skills as readers of literature. No previous study of literature is required, although students will preferably have completed the Critical Thinking and Writing module before taking this one. Performance will be assessed by the following means: two formal essays, secondary readings response, informal writing assignments, and class participation.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Listed below are the whole texts we will be reading. Both are available as part of the Penguin Popular Classics series for about $4.00, and can be purchased at any local bookstore.