Claudia L. Johnson: "Pride and Prejudice and the Pursuit of Happiness"

Key points:

• This is a unique work of Austen's because it indulges all of our wishes and fantasies, and in granting happiness to Darcy, a figure of power (who in comparison to similar figures in other novels lacks significant faults), Austen reaffirms social arrangements without challenging the status quo of the upper class. In other words, lack of satire regarding Darcy's character.
• Some have said that happy ending of the novel is a surface solution that does not address the real problems with society that Austen has uncovered; however, we shouldn't undervalue what Austen achieved for her time by showing the two protagonists in mutually improving debates
• This, like many Austen novels, is about happiness. The characters are shown to us so that we may assess their behavior and choose a desired outcome--and then even to judge the way in which they end up seeking happiness
• Confrontation between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine: decisively progressive, because Elizabeth does not allow the interests of the ruling class to bind her. She places her happiness in the hands of her own moral compass and no one else's--Elizabeth is not awed by mere "money or rank".
• Note: Elizabeth becomes enamored with the fact that Darcy holds so many people's happiness in his hands, despite the fact that he is usually unconcerned with other people's happiness (the way he treats those in his company at balls, etc.)

Curious about "curious"

I am interested in learning more about the word curious because it is a word that has two interesting and distinct meanings, and I would like to know how these separate meanings came about. The root of the word appears to be "cure," which doesn't seem to relate at all to its modern meanings, so I'm also interested in archaic meanings of curious.
I also don't often use the word curious in its meaning of peculiar or strange. When I do use it, it is most often in the form of curiosity, the noun. It is a word that really applies to me in the sense of my eagerness to learn, and I associate curiosity with a certain amount of imagination and wonder. To me, curiosity isn't a negative concept (i.e. curiosity killed the cat) as I think curiosity is always an important aspect of a student's education and an adult's life. In science, curiosity is what drives new experiments and what produces wondrous new results, and that is something I will take with me in my future.

H. L. Malchow, ‘Frankenstein’s Monster and Images of Race in Nineteenth-Century Britain’ (1993)

·      Contemporary attitudes towards non-whites

o   With ranking of foreign organisms and creatures came ranking of people (‘pseudo-scientific racism’)

o   Xenophobia and ethnic prejudice validated by national conflicts

o   Beginnings of fear and hope for abolition of slavery

·      Characterization of “Other”

o   Anti-slavery argument relied on imagery that, instead of portraying blacks as equals, reiterated an image of other, childlike, suffering, degraded

o   Constructed out of a historical tradition of the threatening “other”—skin tone, colossal size and primitive eating habits,

·      Evidence of Mary Shelley’s interest in issue of slavery/Africa

o   1814—read first two volumes of Mungo Park’s relation of interior of western Africa

o   1814-1815—read history of British West Indies, by liberal Jamaican Bryan Edwards, inc. horrors of slave rebellions

·      Anti-slavery debate

o   “How much the monsters excitable character is the result of his unique physiology, and how much of his environment, is an ambiguity which exactly parallels the central conundrum of the anti-slavery debate”

o   Vegetarians vs. cannibals (conflicting image)

o   Child who owes existence to white male patron

o   Victor as guilty slave master

·      Stage interpretations

o   Sacrifice of subtlety and ambiguity in favor of melodrama to fit audience’s expectations

o   Demonic and alchemical elements; comedy, singing and dancing

o   Mute beast, cannibal, caricature

Conflicts of Morality: Connections Between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Crimes and Misdemeanors

Sometime in the late 14^th century, the Middle English tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written down; centuries later in 1989, Woody Allen wrote and directed the film Crimes and Misdemeanors as a philosophical response to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Even though they are separated by time and theme, the Medieval, mystical story of Sir Gawain and the darker, modern experiences of Judah share important characteristics. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, our hero finds himself in a position of moral conflict: he must choose whether to adhere to the knightly code of honor and honesty by giving the lady's girdle over to the lord, or to look to his own interests and keep the girdle in order to save his life. His decision to keep the girdle is something that haunts him eternally as a reminder of his imperfection. This story is reminiscent of the Woody Allen film Crimes and Misdemeanors; Judah, one of the central characters played by Martin Landau, is also presented with a moral conflict and chooses to act selfishly instead of following the accepted social moral code. In Judah's case, the stakes are higher: when Dolores, his mistress, threatens to expose their affair to Miriam, his wife, Judah hires someone to kill Dolores before the truth gets out. Ultimately, both Gawain and Judah act in their own interests in order to “save” their lives. An important similarity between the two men is that they are seemingly forced into their predicaments by women, and consequently that they are pressured by society to adhere to a conventional morality. But these similarities give way to differences in the end: Gawain is punished and carries his guilt with him both spiritually and literally, while Judah avoids an admission of guilt and gets away with murder.

    Both Sir Gawain and Judah engage in extra-marital interactions with women, and these entanglements are the driving forces of their moral conflict. In both cases, there is a certain “Adam-and-Eve” motif, whereby the wrongs committed by the men can be traced back to the actions of the women. This is significant because Sir Gawain and Judah are then partial victims of the circumstances they are forced into; Gawain is manipulated by the lord’s wife into taking her girdle for the sake of chivalry, while Judah is made to act because he feels threatened and inconvenienced when Dolores refuses to keep the affair a secret any longer and tries to expose Judah’s wrongdoings. The men differ, however, in the extent to which they blame the women. When contemplating what to do about Dolores, Judah ironically laments, “She’s killing me!” And when Rabbi Ben tells him that the world depends on adherence to the law, Judah responds, “What good is the law if it prevents me from receiving justice? Is what [Dolores] is doing to me just? Is this what I deserve?” He does not take responsibility for the affair or for his actions because he believes he has been wronged. However, Gawain fully accepts the ownership and consequences of his actions, even going so far as to hate himself for having acted dishonorably. But even Gawain cannot help but momentarily blame the lord’s wife; he lists the various men of history who have been “wooed into sorrow” by women—Adam, Solomon, Samson, and David—and states, “And one and all fell prey / To women that they had used; / If I be led astray, / Methinks I may be excused.” This significant connection between Gawain and Judah reveals a male tendency to blame misdeeds on the influence of women, and suggests an important recurring theme of literature.

    Within the context of their respective societies, Gawain and Judah must take action to resolve their predicaments while knowing that they will compromise some aspect of their lives. Both men ultimately decide to take a path that will allow them to “survive,” although that means that they will compromise their morality. Gawain is obligated by his honor as a knight to give the girdle to the lord, but he knows that doing so would not only conflict with his duty to guard the lady’s honor, but also his need to avoid death at the hands of the Green Knight. In the Arthurian world of knights and ladies, the concept of right and wrong is black and white, and even conflicts of morality must be dealt with; here, the Green Knight is the final judge and arbitrator of punishment. But in the modern world of Crimes and Misdemeanors, the accepted code is a social and religious one, whereby the ultimate judges are the law and God. The people in Judah’s world are conflicted; some, like Rabbi Ben, urge Judah to pursue a path of honesty and goodness—an understanding that is implicitly based in a belief in God. But others in the modern story, like Professor Levy, acknowledge the complex and conflicting nature of morality: “[God…] demands that you behave morally. But here comes the paradox. God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, his beloved son, to Him.” Similarly, the character of Halley is not convinced of any religious framework of ethics, stating, “No matter how elaborate a philosophical system you work out, in the end it’s got to be incomplete.” These kinds of secular and questioning ideas leave just enough room for personal morality to override societal morality in a modern world, and for this reason Judah finds room not only to commit murder, but also to forgive himself for it. Gawain’s world does not contain such loopholes, and instead imposes an overarching code that dictates behavior. Interestingly enough, both men choose to act selfishly, but only Judah is able to live free from guilt and shame.

Who was Caedmon??

• He is the earliest English poet whose name is known.
• Only source of original biographical info is from 8th-century monk Bede
• Caedmon was active somewhere between 657 and 684 CE, but exact dates not known
• Name of Celtic origin, though Bede notes English was his "own" language

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/mp3/audio_ma_02.mp3\

     1         Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard

              2metudæs maecti end his modgidanc

              3uerc uuldurfadur sue he uundra gihuaes

              4eci dryctin or astelidæ

              5he aerist scop aelda barnum

              6heben til hrofe haleg scepen.

              7tha middungeard moncynnæs uard

              8eci dryctin æfter tiadæ

              9firum foldu frea allmectig

primo cantauit Cædmon istud carmen

MODERN ENGLISH TRANSLATION

1. Now let me praise the keeper of Heaven's kingdom
2.  the might of the Creator, and his thought,
3.  the work of the Father of glory, how each of wonders
4. the Eternal Lord established in the beginning.
5. He first created for the sons of men
6. Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator,
7. then Middle-earth the keeper of mankind,
8. the Eternal Lord, afterwards made,
9. the earth for men, the Almighty Lord.
10.  In the beginning, Caedmon sang this poem.

On The Picture of Dorian Gray

One of the books I chose to read from the summer list was Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. I selected it solely on the basis of my love of Wilde's wit in The Importance of Being Earnest, his most famous play, which I had adored for its delightful tendency to spout ridiculous paradoxes and quizzical epigrams that often seemed to capture truths about human society. But I knew that Dorian Gray, Wilde's only novel, was going to be a different experience entirely--and indeed it was. Gone are the humor and light-heartedness of Earnest; instead Wilde sets his gaze on something darker and much more sinister. The subject matter has transferred from the farce of Victorian London social conventions to a culture of "new hedonism" in a beautiful youth, and first name mishaps and secret trips to the countryside are replaced by murder and deceit. But what remains is Wilde's ability to unleash thought-provoking concepts from the mouths of intriguing and often intentionally limited characters and to portray his distinct persona through the work itself.

I find it difficult to classify Dorian Gray as an example of "good" or "bad" storytelling for the reason that I think it is a bit of both. The novel's greatest strengths as a story come through in the character dialogue--often that between the three main characters--and in Dorian's psychological struggles that  culminate in his darker thoughts and actions.

Character development is usually cited as playing an important role in involving the reader and making a story believable; my favorite aspect of Dorian Gray is that its introductory narrative descriptions of the characters are brief and limited to that moment in time. All the reader can rely on throughout the novel to see changes (or lack thereof) in the main characters is the sometimes infrequent dialogue between them. What is most fascinating is to recognize that Dorian is changing as he succumbs to the various dark influences in his life--the "yellow book," Harry's "new hedonism," and Dorian's own obsession with the youth and beauty for which he is so oft praised--but meanwhile to observe that in their dialogue with him, Basil and Harry remained unchanged in their ways of thinking. Neither realizes the true nature of the changes taking place within our antihero.

This leads to the next strength of the novel, which lies within is its dealings in the realm of the mind and the conscience. While critics may point out that Wilde borrowed the plot concept from previous writers, he has certainly executed the story of the beautiful youth and aging painting in a smooth and effective manner. What I find most intriguing is the inherent paradox of Dorian's circumstances. While his situation allows him the permanence of beauty, thus perpetuating his ability to commit evil, the portrait stands as an ever-present representation of his conscience, nagging at him to give up his dark new life and redeem his soul. To grapple with these two conflicting emotions is a formidable task--and it is this constant grappling that makes for the best moments of story-telling in the novel. When Dorian first sees the changes that have become apparent in the painting, his obsession that follows consumes him--and the reader. Is the painting actually changing? Or is this simply a figment of Dorian's overwhelmed mind and battered conscience? These questions are reminiscent of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," which deals with similar concepts of guilt and obsession, and the experience of not knowing the answers is an engaging aspect of the story.

As events unfold and Dorian gives in to the pleasures and temptations of evil, an important nuance of the story is Wilde's ability to keep the reader, to a certain extent, on Dorian's side. We have seen his darkness and witnessed his self-destruction, and yet when he begins to repent and seek forgiveness by sparing his newest female conquest, we cannot help but hope that this once innocent youth can escape his inevitable fate. Having thoroughly convinced us of the effects of outside influences on Dorian's actions, Wilde has successfully manipulated us into forgiving Dorian for his sins. We do not hate him; in some ways, we find him almost tragic. And this is very important in giving the novel significance.

However, alongside such strengths there are also some weak areas in the story-telling. Most obvious are the narrative's tedious passages chronicling Dorian's various collections and fascinations with art and fashion. Seemingly endless references to highly esoteric people and places forced me to put down the book on one or more occasions, as I found these slow points to be unnecessary, often hindering the progression of the plot. Additionally, I observed that the extra time spent on needless detail could have been effectively used to bolster some undeveloped areas of the story. Frequent references to Dorian's evil actions are meant to assure us of his turn to the dark side, and yet, aside from Basil's murder and Sybil's suicide, the reader is not informed to any certain level of most of Dorian's other foul deeds. As a character, he is on some levels undeveloped. His mistreatment of women is not explained and his motives are in many cases not given. Is he so corrupt that his dark actions are automatic? Does he not fully consider why he does things, and only that he must do them in order to not be defeated by temptation?

Admittedly, in asking this, I have led myself to a conclusion. As a fault, Wilde's brevity also contributes to the novel's greatest attribute: its involvement of the reader in interpretation. We are left to decide if Dorian was truly evil, if Harry's theories could be plausibly applied to life, if the "curse" really existed. Ultimately, we are left asking ourselves, Did Wilde really think this way? Is he condoning or warning against such behavior? Is the tragic drama that Dorian pursues truly a form of art in itself? Or is his life's only true art that which remains when the story concludes--a flawless picture of Dorian Gray?

My Top 7 Most Memorable Books

1. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak -- This is one of the earliest books I read that had a profound effect on me. Within the setting of Nazi Germany it explores issues that were in some ways foreign to me as a young girl--death, loss, and persecution--and the experience of reading gave me food for thought that has lasted to this day.
2. The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde -- One of my all-time favorites. This was my introduction to both Wilde as an author and to plays as a genre of pleasure reading, not just as an academic experience. I loved the whimsicality and wit of the characters, and I greatly enjoyed Wilde's sense of humor. It was my experience with this play that led me to choose The Picture of Dorian Gray as one of my summer reading books.
3. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon--Intriguing time-travel premise, historical context, moving romance--loved it! The characters and the language completely immersed me in Gabaldon's world. Have yet to read the rest of the series but I look forward to doing so.
4. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand--This book made me think more than most. It was definitely a love-hate relationship--but in the end it has affected my way of thinking in a significant way. Obviously concerned mostly with developing her theories and belief system, Rand is occasionally caught up in her treatise (although less so than in Atlas Shrugged, which I found to be a step-down on the literary level from The Fountainhead.) The Fountainhead steered me towards libertarian ideals and caused me to re-evaluate my political and social thought. I thank Rand for her willingness to redefine "selfishness" as it has had an important influence on the way I try to live my life.
5. Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger--My favorite book that I have ever been assigned to read in school. Holden was such a relatable character on so many levels, and his narration was refreshing. This inspired me to pursue a similar reading experience in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
7. The Hunger Games--A more recent and less classical novel, this is my favorite of the fantasy/adventure/romance novels around today. A new level up from Twilight and Harry Potter, The Hunger Games was thought-provoking and page turning. I have read all three and look forward to a move that will certainly not do justice to the original story.