I imagine myself in a classroom where the teacher allows us to interpret what we wish about literature. It is good to some extent to hear the knowledge the teacher can provide, but sometimes this can tear down the beauty of the art form. When we scrutinize too hard, we begin to loose pleasure.

There are some alterior motivations for wanting to fair. Sometimes there is just so much pressure to succeed, but there are people who do no want to succeed at all. There are even cases where children do not want to do better than their parents. The children do not want to be like their parents.

The Timeline of Literary Theory...

Literary Theory is the varying ways to read and make meaning of a text. New Criticism is the, well relatively new way of criticism, as in it was the way of interpreting texts from the 1920's to the 1950's. New Criticism was a way of seeking out contradictions in a text and figuring out how those contradictions unified the text and created meaning. Then, in the 1960's we had a cultural revolution in America, England, and in France. A lot of the criticism was carried from Europe to America. From this international wave, we got new ways of looking at texts such as the way of Freud. Freud dealt heavily with psycholanalysis and the unconscious. This way would direct our thoughts and actions. There was an intense move to attempt to understand dreams and the inner-workings of the mind. When we go to a psychoanalysis, they are essentially "reading" us. Why not apply this to BOOKS?

From this, we created the psychoanalytic theory, which gave way to feminism writing. The movement for women's rights and equality began in the 50's and carried on heavily through the 60's and 70's. Where you read texts to discover hidden or not hidden meanings about female desire, empowerment, equality, sexuality, gender politics, and most importantly POWER and SUBJECTIVITY. What makes a woman a woman and a man a man. These all create theorhetical ways to read! This marked the beginning of the academy as a political space. Nothing is at state socially or culturally here.

So, what can literature show us about equality? Subjectivity? Power? Many people take great offense in studying these factors. Then a prominent question arises: "WHO CARES WHAT THE AUTHOR THOUGHT?!" We now begin reading texts looking for certain bits; we are less concerned with what the author was thinking. This also holds true for the critical race theory. The same information can all be applied to race. Texts begin to have a larger cultural meaning.

Now, with all these new theories, we begin to question what a TEXT is. Texts now are poems, novels, plays, films, tv shows, movies, digital images, art, painting, cd's, music, graffiti, clothes, merchandising, advertising. Now, texts are ANYTHING THAT ONE CAN INTERPRET IN SOME WAY.

Then, of course, there's Queer Theory. This deals with gender issues, power, gender depictions, heteronormative ways of thinking. How is queer identity constructed in a text? It deals with power, identity, subjectivity, political significance, cultural significance, and types of representation. Literary theory thus is frequently attacked because it can politically divide a classroom.

The Deconstruction deals with French philosophy of Jacques Derrida from the 1970's onward.

Logocentric is when we privilege the faculty of reason over all else. In the history of the West, reason has been used to judge what makes a human, human.

In literature or philosophy or political reports, or expeditions to far away lands, non-white peoples are judged to be without reason and therefore are not fully human. During British Imperialism, slave trade between England and its plantations all over the world. The deconstruction, then, is to question meaning, to question stable notions of identity, to question stable notions of what a person is and so on. So, how do we make meaning? Is a text just a text?
What is art? What is a poem? We are challenging fundamental assumptions of Western culture.

There is a lot of academic "talk" in On Beauty. It is quite politicized, and it is discussing that in the academic realhm. It is discussing the culture wars.

Who is anti-left and anti-right? The left and the right are the others opinions of what "Great Art" is. There is the "canon," and that is a comfort zone to many of us. We think about the "lefty intellectuals," who have a tendancy to dismantle any other opposing view. Howard is an example of this in "On Beauty." These people, in essence, are simply mimicking the words of our past. There is nothing creative on their part.

I was fascinated by the "Creative Writing" scandal in the book. It really does make a comment on the university as a whole. It is interesting how one person could manipulate one individual on behalf of her father's affair. There is such pressure to get grades and authority, and there is so much jugdement on each and every student. It really does interfere with beauty because our minds are so cluttered by the establishment. Universities, in my opinion, do not defend beauty.

I really like the analogy we are using right now. Do we want the 'A' doctor or the 'C' doctor. Sometimes the A doctor can be a sleazy creature, but the C doctor can be a better person. In many cases, the grades do not mandate a better teacher. The same is true in undergrad, I believe. I may not make straight A's, but I feel that I sometimes learn more and benefit more than those kids who are "naturally gifted" (as my mother dubbed them when I was in elementary school.) I know many people who don't get the best grades, but they are good, honest people.

Between the Lines: Beauty

Well, unfortunately, my computer has been having some technical difficulties, so I'm starting a bit late on this class discusion.

Last class, we were discussing the overall topic of beauty. What is it technically? If we spend our time paroozing through celebrity magazines, we are bombarded by women who appear to be 5'10 and 110 pounds. If we are too caught up in this cookie-cutter images, we loose our ability to define true beauty, which is a beauty more based on lines and what makes up a person.

In our book, the characters are scrutinized with their body images and whether or not they are beautiful. It is interesting to compare these images in relation to thier social class.

Howard, while upper class, is extremely condescending toward Kiki during Mozart's Requiem.

Imagine if all of us had never heard of Mozart before. What if he was just a man playing for pocket change on the street? Would we all idolize him so much? We put people like this on a level of bardolotry. Here's the problem: the bard is always a man. There is this "Great Man Theory" that is plaguing us. There has yet to be a "great woman." Thus far in our history, there is no woman.

Pg. 118-120: It is hard to say why Howard had an affair with Claire. Claire is more on Howard's level intellectually. Claire is caucasion, thin, fit, and tan. She is the complete opposite. I can imagine that Kiki would be upset because of many things, but physically, it must be extremely disheartening to look at her husband having an affair with a woman of Claire's type. Claire is the social description of "beautiful." She is probably more aethetically pleasing than Kiki is. It must also hurt Kiki because of the intellectual gap between she and her husband and then seeing how Howard gravitates toward Claire. Claire is more well-rounded education-wise. Overall, Claire is the exact antithesis of what Kiki is.

On Beauty...

On Beauty was written by Zadie Smith. The main theme is multiculturalism.

Zadie Smith
"You can't just hit people over the head by telling them your political truths."
She believes that novels are political, but it is important not to command her beliefs in such a Stalin-esque fashion; to Smith, this kind of art is immoral and bad. Good art, on the other hand, "is a case of morals." Smith feels that good art is based not solely based on perceptions of oneself and not thinking of one's own personal feelings and ideals, but rather it is important to be able to look at the overview and realizing that you are not the center of the universe. It is necessary to incorperate all sides of the story.

In relation to everything we've been talking about in our recent classes, it is important to play devil's advocate and look at Zadie Smith for, well, basically her background: she is black and she is of a lower-class background.

Zadie Smith vs. "Zadie Smith:"
"Zadie Smith" is a brand; she is a character, not a real person. "Zadie Smith" is the bardolotry of Zadie Smith. Because Zadie Smith is black and not wealthy, "Zadie Smith" is created. Because of "who she is," it somewhat gives her this elevated status.

Psychological analogy for behavior: when people get upset with others for being messy or whatever, chances are that they are actually really just upset with themselves for the same thing that they are seeing as a defect in the other individual.

The Left, the Multiculturalists, say that there is no "great art." Is On Beauty art? Who can judge?

Jerome's family is the family in America. The Kipp's are the British family from the Carribean. Kiki is black, and her husband is white; the children are of mixed heritage. Monty is very religious, and thier children are very religious. His wife stays at home. They are a "typical" family.

Jerome is an interesting character. He is rebelling against his father. Kiki is upset with her husband because he has had an affair. He goes to work for Monty, which is somewhat of an interesting move. "Jerome had fallen in love with a family." Jerome does NOT want his family anymore; he looks at the other family, and he thinks that is what he wants.

Jeanette Winterson

I went online to see Winterson's website, and I thought that it was very interesting. In particular, I was captured by the thought of imagining any famous man, and then imagining his life as a woman. Sometimes, men get a leg-up simply because of their gender.

Also, now that we are exploring Sarah's blog, I am noticing the ways that Winterson words some things and descriptions. There are also many identity questions, in which the characters, especially Picasso question thier own identity and where and how they may fit into society.

...one final though carried on from below...

I was thinking about the movie 'Mona Lisa Smile,' which, among other things, discusses the meaning of art. What is it? What makes art 'art'? I really love this clip below. Start watching at about 1:55 and watch through the classroom scene. Hope you like it!

What's Art? Who is Judging?

Confidence. It's one simple word that can give someone so much, or it can take away the world from right under their feet. Throughout my twenty-one years on this earth, I'd say one of the biggest lessons I've learned was the importance of confidence. Confidence is not something that is easy to acquire, but rather it is like the giant trophy at the end of a long and tedious journey.

Now I am a junior in college, and I, as well as my parents, can see a drastic change in me now from the person I was in high school. The real change is confidence. I have accomplished graduating from high school, being accepted into a decent university, living on my own, making my own friends, etc. There are so many little things in life that attribute to one's confidence.

An interesting point that Jeanette Winterson discusses, however, is how peoples' personal art work (or whatever talent-based work that may be) is judged by the outside. Sometimes I'll look at an abstract painting and say to myself, "I could do this! Hell, my dog could do this!" Yet, I'll read the accolades from the piece and it is considered to be one of the world's finest creations-- a must see! Well, who says this? Who gives this piece such status? Mentally, I just imagine some panel of wigged judges standing behind podiums and voting Parliament- style.

I think it is interesting to discuss these points dissect the canon of literature and art. The interesting thing about these two mediums is that neither can be proven true or false, so who is judging? Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with confidence and how one presents himself to the public about his talent. Confidence is key.

I was personally very touched by the youtube video we watched in class with all the different street performers singing 'Stand by Me.' I forwarded the link to my parents, and they loved it as well. What's interesting is that none of these people had money, so it's not like they could have 'bought' their way to fame. They were strictly "judged" on talent, and I think that that's awesome. They had confidence in what they did, and it showed. They were proud of their talent.

Jeanette Winterson: Art and Lies

I have actually read Jeanette Winterson's My Year of Meats already in another one of my English/women's studies classes, and it was very different. It was an interesting take on feminism and women's rights through a cross-cultural eye. Now, in this class, we will read Winterson with a genre/art focus.

As an English major, there is pretty much a canon of "great literature." I feel that I have gone through the "canon." The canon is when people sit down a decide and classify what THE GREAT LITERATURE really is. Our class agrees that we have all been taught the stereotypical canon. The "great literature" ignores "cultural studies." People, however, are becoming aware of the canon, and it can be pretty prejudice. It is subjective to the people who create the infamous canon. Nowadays, in many liberal arts education, they are trying to fulfill the cultural requirements.

Cultural studies implies that there is NO "great art." What makes art great and why? Greatness is far too narrowly defined. Perhaps we are all great artists. When people read and enjoy what they're reading, they are really seeing thier own "alienated majesty" through another artist. It is a way of loving ourself without loving ourselves directly. It's like we're projecting our great qualities onto someone else.

When we fall under the foreign language of literature, we are doing ourselves a disservice by thinking what we're reading is "weird" or "strange." It's comparable to being in a foreign country and not understanding their language, but also thinking that they are wrong for not speaking your own native tounge.

Jeanette Winterson's art can be viewed as extremely sexual, perhaps disturbing to some. I remember her last novel, My Year of Meats was the same way. It's important for us to view this as art!

Poetess Archive

Comparing the different poems...

I feel that reading a poem off of an actual page (or a scanned page) really provides a more authentic experience to the reader. As a child, I remember loving when my parents would read to me, and my absolute favorite part of reading was looking at the pictures, the words on the page, and of course turning the pages. I don't know why, but reading anything off of a computer screen gives me a challenge; I am not as interested and more easily distracted. I never realized how much the pages of the book itself really do tell a story.
I am not sure, necessarily, if the changing of the poem's presentation really CHANGES the meaning, though. I think that it gives the reader a different experience, but it does not change the meaning of the exact poem. Alternatively, sometimes the experience IS the meaning. As a reader, I can be completely void to the meaning if I am uninterested in the text.
When reading poetry, I am always interested in the different meanings various people in my class bring to the discussion. I feel that each one of us takes out of poetry random tid-bits of information leading to the ultimate point.

The real story behind this poem is the emphasis on the appreciation of the aesthetic... it's not just about picking flowers and childish talk.

The positive aspects of writing in different texts is that it provides a different experience entirely. The image of the text is drastically important. When you are reading texts, it is also visual; it is a visual experience. Reading/art IS an experience in some way, and it can change the entire meaning of a piece.

Guest Speaker on Aurora Leigh

We had a passage from Book III, line 302

Our group read over the passage, and overall, we were interested in the fact that it seemed to be very autobiographical for Elizabeth Barrett Browning herself. I liked how she spoke about how she felt urged to write in prose, as that is what the English public wanted to buy, and it was what they were interested in. Frankly, poetry was not appealing to the public. Aurora (and Barrett Browning) recognized that in order to earn money, she would need to write novels, encyclopedias, write for magazines, cookbooks, etc. Also, it is imperative to take note that Elizabeth Barrett Browning needed financial support from her husband, even though she wrote. She was concerned with holding up her name. She did not want to fall destitute.

In Book I, lines 304-312, we discuss the comparisons between the aunt and Aurora herself. I have never really noticed the similarities. Also, I hadn't thought of how Aurora's aunt creates a complex of how Aurora should behave as a woman. Her aunt also pops up in other passages, even when the subject is not about her aunt.

Another interesting point is how Barrett Browning does not focus on the overall "beauty" of everything. When she discusses babies, for example, she does not speak to the angelic nature or the babies, but rather she describes them with food on their faces and the other less beautiful aspects of beautiful babies.

Something we talked about in Frankenstein... the father wouldn't let any of his children marry perhaps because he was so hurt by the loss of his wife. Interesting point we've discussed...

Aurora Leigh Chat...

Many people are confused with the rythm of the poem, but I for some reason do not feel caught up in that. The Victorian language is very different, however, than regular language. "English is the greatest language for poetry." I am a French minor, so I understand! French poetry-- not so easy!

I'm glad we're talking about poetry... I am taking another lit class filled with many creative writing majors (of which, I am not...) so I do not know many of the rhythms that other kids seem to know.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
She died young. Her mother died when she was twenty (similar to Aurora Leigh!) Almost was poet laureate! That is a huge deal! She was very politically active, similar to Charles Dickens! Her father cloistered her, and she became almost a recluse.
She became addicted to morphine... opium. In 1846ish, she met Robert Browning through a letter. The two of them quickly fell in love, and then they eloped a year later. When she married him, she became a certain Bohemian figure living in England.
She wrote some of the most famous love poetry ever written. She truly loved Browning. One of her most famous love poems was "How Do I Love Thee?"

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with a passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

Aurora Leigh
Her aunt does not like her. Aurora's mother took away her aunt's money and inheritance. No one expected her father to marry this woman. He went to Tuscany on business, and found Aurora's mother. Her mother was a Tuscan woman, and she was madly in love with her father, as he was with her. Unfortunately, after their passionate love, she passes away after four years of marriage and having his child.
Aurora's father loves her dearly. He teaches her.
The ideal of feminism is that it will disappear!!!! This will mean sexism will disappear, and that's a good thing! This is why there is even this class-- "British Women Authors." This is the literary cannon at present.
Pallemceste: something that has already been written but someone writes additionally onto it. It brings up the question of bilogony. Maybe it could be God. Think of writing on a piece of paper. What has formed us as people today.
-What covers our pallemceste? What shapes our thoughts and expectations through life. Friends, family, everything we read, music, television, etc.
-Aurora Leigh is asking herself what has shaped her... what around her has shaped who she has become and how she thinks.

Acculturation: traveling outside of her comfort zone, literally. Going to another continent, etc. Listening to eternity.
-This brings about a sense of the infinite or divine. Saints are normally painted in this ecstatic position. Think about babies after being breast-fed-- they are have a peice of the celestial clouds with them, and they are infinately happy and joyous.
-God is the outer infinite.

Aurora's mother loved her with that celestial bliss and infinite peace. Aurora is not reconciled by the order of society.
Aurora feels a "mother want" about the world. Mothers are better at showing their unconditional love than fathers are. This is the case about Aurora's father. She hungers for the unconditional love that only a mother can supply.
Aurora's mother is "worn out by childbirth." Women know how to raise children in ways that are perhaps better than men can. "Mothers can string pretty words together that make no sense." Women have a way of abstract comforting, whereas men are more factual and punctual. Mothers are better readers of their children. Aurora's father is struggling to speak to understand Aurora.

"Rock-a-bye Baby" is about a baby about to die... but when a mother sings it, it is no longer about the meaning. It is simply the sound of her voice "stringing pretty words together that make no sense."

The words we use to describe the world are the words that our culture gives us. There is, somewhat, a range in which we can think. But Barrett Browning does not look at this is such a violent light. She uses the "word" corals, rather than something sharp and masculine like the word, "knives."

Aurora Leigh...a relatable creature

I personally am very captivated by Aurora. I think she is a relatable character, given her age and how she describes her emotions. I get a kick out of how she describes Romney and how she treats him. It is obviously a very "middle school" esque emotion, and I think it is something we all remember, especially when thinking of how we thought of the opposite sex. Romney, while older, is still viewed through Aurora's somewhat younger eyes, and you can see the difference between the two. I liked the way Aurora described how her aunt treated her as well. I feel, as a reader, we can understand that she did not like Aurora's mother, and she was very protective of her brother, Aurora's father.

I am really interested in how this poem is written. It seems so modern, especially considering the time it is written. It has almost a beatnick feel to it, although it is way before the beat generation. So far, I am truly enoying it. :-)

Personally, I have trouble comparing Latimer to Victor because, in this instance, I feel sorry for Latimer. He reminds me of one of the Vampires in the Twilight series. Yes, he is Gothic and tragic figure, but there is something mystical about him that I find intruiging. Victor, on the other hand, was just selfish and a coward. I found him hard to relate to, and I could not find any sympathy or interest in him.

Heros!

Q: How do different media sources express interior monologues?
In novels, you get free indirect discourse. Movies, however, give you voice-overs, and the viewers physically see the images.
HEROS, however, are completely different. We don't get an interior monologue with them...

"Who can tell the dancer from the dance?"- W.B. Yeats

Do novels loan themselves to being transcribed into media? They are completely different, and they can do different things.

The finale in the book is somewhat controversial for many people. This brings about the heroic sacrifice. Does Victor see his sacrifice? I feel like he is a selfish man. He demands for Walton to continue hunting for the monster. He won't go home to be with his families. These men don't want to be brave, though. And Victor, I don't think is being a hero. He's being too passive, really.

Is there a different form of heroism when looking through the female eyes? I personally do not believe this to be true. Women value different qualities, perchance, but in the end, I don't think that women see heroism different.

Overall the theme in Frankenstein is that Victor is escaping intimacy of any kind with anyone. Personally, I don't think Victor is heroic at all, by this. In fact, I think he is a coward. The bravery in him would be revealed if he cared about someone other than himself.

Elizabeth: Not only a fantastic name!

I chose to highlight Elizabeth as the hero in Frankenstein. Not only is her name Elizabeth ( ;-) ) But also she embodies a quality that I admire very much in people: patience. She is patient with Victor, her betrothed, and she is to be respected for that. Although she has overcome so much hardship in the novel, I think that she is also the one who deserves the most respect.

Here is the the character I made, although I have no idea how to save it. Here is the text, though, that it wanted me to save in a file...somehow, someway...

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-Victor DOES NOT want to allow the male and female monsters to procreate.
-Victor is just so much about himself! He doesn't take the time to look around and see how he is affecting others. This bothers me about him.

The monster could kill Victor at any moment. He is strong and could kill anything he wanted. Why doesn't he kill Victor?
BUT what if Victor and the monster are the same person?!?!?!?!? No one ever "sees" the monster... perchance Victor is simply hallucinating. Victor in the alter-ego.

So, if Victor and monster are the same person, why does Victor want to kill his loved ones?

THE WORD "WRETCH"
I find it interesting that Victor, of course, calls his monster a "wretch," but the monster also uses that word to describe Victor. It is kind of interchangeable between the two of them. I think it must go back to what we were talking about last class and how what the parent states reflects upon the child. Victor also calls himself a wretch... which shows some similarity between the two of them.

MASTER/SLAVE RELATIONSHIP: HAGEL
Look at the dependencies between Victor and the monster. The monster starts using the word "wretch" to describe Victor. It becomes a mirror between the two. "Slave looks in the mirror and sees a wretch, his monster."

That's interesting. Circling words and noting the words an author uses often.

IS THERE SOME REASON WHY SOMEONE WOULD WANT TO BE ALONE IN THE WORLD?
-Part of Victor's worry that someone will hurt him

Neglecting family. Heroism. Sci-Fi.

GOOGLE HERO MACHINE!!!! Make a hero out of one of the characters in Frankenstein

Frankenstein...An Innocent Monster?

Oh my gosh! I am an idiot! I just found the new updated syllabus, so I have not even been keeping up with my blog at home! I'm so sorry! :-( I will catch up for sure! My mistake!

Introduction
I can't believe Mary Shelley wrote this when she was only nineteen! Wowwww!!!

"Go forth, my hideous progeny." - In relation to her book

Words by association: this is how culture perpetuates. Children reflect much of the ideas that their parents hold too. And it goes around as a cycle. Think about how parents may view poor people, and the children will likely reflect their opinion as well.

Prejudice is PRE-JUDGEMENT! The child is the blank slate. Let the child make his own opinion. The child is corrupted by the parents' negativity.
But how far can you go without ruining the child. They do need to know some things from your parents, but maybe not prejudices and what not.

Reign on Terror in France!!!!

Narcisism in America... does it exist? Americans are patted on the back for many things, and what does this mean in relation to other nations?
"People never learn anything unless through pleasure."-interesting comment, and I believe it

WE JUST DANCEDDDD!

The Monster!
-How do Victor and the monster relate to all we've discussed?
Victor is like the mother to this monster, so when he abandons it, it's like he's leaving an innocent child. It's pure neglect. Victor abandons the monster because he was afraid. Think about the kids in Collumbine High School.
-The comment on that everyone has their own personality is based on nurture, rather than nature.
-Victor treated the monster terribly... how impressionable is this monster then?

The monster is much like Victor's CHILD. One has a child for a reason. Victor created the monster for the science experiment; there is zero love involved here. Having a child is a huge responsibility.
Many parenting mechanisms can be viewed in a negative light. Parents use their kids to their own advantage; the children are like tools.
Children need boarders of right and wrong in society. Some things the child will learn on his own, other things, though, the child needs guidance.
A child, more than an animal or a pet, needs attention.

The monster is much like Heathcliff, to me. He is treated horribly by everyone. Initially, he only wanted to befriend William and his intentions were not to kill.

Bascially, the monster is saying that he was good but Victor (and his surrondings) made him bad. Does Victor owe the monster happiness? Does God owe us happiness?
-I don't think parents CAN give the child happiness; that's the human's puropse on earth, in my opinion. For some people, it takes a long time to find what makes them happy, but that's the beauty and the challenge of life.
-Parents owe the children the basic materials and framework to happiness, but in the end, it is up to the child, the individual.

Death...Frankenstein

I'm sorry I've been gone for so long :-( I've been sick...strep, sinus, etc. Bad news bears. I got the plague this year :-(

Think about death. Death and love.
Is it worth to have a love for something (a child, parent, lover) when they can so easily hurt you. Imagine losing a child, what PAIN is that. On a lesser note, my mom is the same way with dogs. We had a family dog, a golden retriever named Buddy, for eleven years, and he and my mom were the closest pair of animal-human I've ever seen. They talked, literally... I'm not kidding (we Collins' are known for our ravishing imaginations) and they were literally dear dear friends. I want my mom to get another dog, but she refuses, since after Buddy's death, she has been so hurt. It was the hardest thing in the world for her, and she would never ever want to relive it.

Poems mentioned in "Frankenstein"
-Prometheus in "Prometeus Unbound." I have never read this, so I did not grasp the analogy.

-"Rime of the Ancient Mariner"-->the wedding ghost, the old man kills the albatross because the bird loves him so much. Why would he kill this bird who loved him so much?
-->Christ image... killing Christ because he loved them so much
-In the end, deep, divine love is scary as hell... it's true, when you think about it. They can hurt you if anything happened.
Think of it on a personal level, if a guy loves you like REALLY, then chances are, you are not going to want anything to do with him.
Terrible anxiety and terrible fear. Think of the horror of watching you child die. Most mothers would rather die.
Suddenly, you have no control over yourself.
What if that bird doesn't come anymore? Kill him before he hurts you, that's the easy way out.

Alastor, Percy Bysshe Shelley
-Veiled maiden in love with him, but he doesn't notice... he dreams about her, and then is in seek of her again
-Originally, he "spurned her" He didn't take the original opportunity to love her back when she loved her...
-->Maybe he didn't want to get involved with someone, maybe they wouldn't live happily ever after in the pristine case. "Black hairs in the shower" image

Do these poems relate to "Frankenstein" in any way?
-Victor spurns nature's gifts
-He ignores everyone around him until he achieves "his goal"
-He doesn't pursue any relationships, he becomes selfish! He completely ignores his family and doesn't send them letters.
-->Even Elizabeth, who is his betrothed...
But why doesn't he contact them?????
-He is obsessed with his "project"

What feelings made Victor forget nature?
-He thought he'd made his monster beautiful... but the monster looks like death animated. He is completely YELLOW! Victor is upset; his creation has, in his eyes, failed. He is horrified by what he's done, and he is ashamed!

Building the monster and rejecting Elizabeth...
-Elizabeth is essentially an extension of his mother, so he wants to not be hurt and he wants to keep her alive forever
-He wants to never lose her, and he is afraid of a world without her
-->Unfortunately, this is a bad motivation for Victor. The monster scares him.

"I became as cheerful as before I was attacked by the fatal passion."
-He imagines himself being literally attacked by fate! He was a mere passer-by and fate attacked him
-->He made a mistake. He is too passive, really. Many things are his fault. He is too passive, and he does not "man up" and act for himself.

Pg. 63-64
-Victor viewing himself as the true murderer, but Elizabeth was innocent. Victor, then, is the one who is suffering the most out of the two.
-->"I bore a hell within me." Victor quoting Satan in Paradise Lost.
-Elizabeth is suffering pretty badly, but Victor is not recognizing her... his egotism is in the way
-Victor has a sick desire to be the greatest... and that is his inherent problem

From Heathcliff to Frankenstein...

All the characters become evil!
-Think about Linton...he is evil, but in the end, he helps Catherine

Hareton
He is completely "uncivilized"
Think about how he's been raised!!! BASICALLY BY NO ONE! Very Jungle Book Mogley-esque
He does have a good heart deep in there somewhere...

Young Catherine
-How bout her, eh? Welp, time for Frankenstein...

Catherine Bronte's Commentary on Her Sister
Aknowledging the brutality and the grotesque of the novel. I like when authors are conscious of what they are doing. Heathcliff is like satan...
-How could "young, innocent" Emily Bronte create such a vulgar story?
There comes a moment when a writer refuses to "follow the path," and begin to give in to the art and lets the art take over.
"You do an eclectic celebration of dance!
You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse!
You do Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham!
Or Twila, Twila, Twila!
Or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd!
Or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!
But you keep it all inside!"
-->From "The Birdcage," always reminds me of what it's like to be inside an artist's mind... one of my favorite quotes

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley
-Walton is searching for the North Pole
-Imagines he could become a "Homer" or a "Shakespeare in one year
HEFTY EXPECTATIONS, SIR! He wants fame. Pride. That is his only goal in this quest of his.
-Walton wants to be famous... but WHY?????
-How does Victor intervene?
-Victor begins to tell Walton his story... because he wants to teach Walton a lesson
*"Dear men, do you share my madness?"
-It's not in our edition! Por que? It's one of the most famous lines, but it was taken out
*There is debate on whether or not Percy Shelley wrote certain parts of "Frankenstein"
-Walton wants to be treated like royalty: "too cool to touch" Hubris much?

The Vulgar Heathcliff in the Movie...

The first time I read Wuthering Heights, I was in high school, and I struggled to follow the plot and storyline. This time through, however, I am captivated and intrigued. I don't know if it's perhaps maturity on my part or perhaps and new-found patience that I've acquired, but I understood and appreciated the unfolding love story. I struggle to state whether or not Heathcliff and Cathy were truly in Romeo and Juliet-esque love, but they did have a magnetic force attraction to each other, and no one can deny that.

While watching the movie, I struggled to find any sympathy inside of me for Heathcliff's character. When I read the book, I felt that Bronte made him more of a sympathetic creature, and I hurt with him each time he was mocked and ridiculed by the Linton's or by Hindley. Perhaps it was the way that the director of the film made the actor of Heathcliff look: this Heathcliff was cold and brash, almost from the start. The film did not develop Heathcliff's early life, and I did not see anyone ever treat Heathcliff poorly. In the very beginning, Hindley merely closes the door on Heathcliff's face and informs him that he will now be sleeping in the stables. The next time we see Heathcliff, he is a grown man covorting with Cathy.

The point at which I really see Heathcliff's anger and violence that did not translate the same way for me as through the book is after Cathy has given birth to the baby and has died, Heathcliff is shown physically beating Isabella with Nelly watching directly. He calls her a slut, and she is shown with cuts and bruises all over her face. During the book, Isabella comes to Nelly for help and merely hints at what is going on at Wuthering Heights, but to personally see him hit her makes me struggle to find any soft side of him. I guess this, however, is merely the power of modern film....



As the story is unfolding even more, Heathcliff just becomes a colder anad crueler person. I think, because of this, I prefer the book version. I feel I have more emotion invested with the book because I am sympathetic toward Heathcliff; I want him to win and to be treated right. I see the other characters with whom he is interacting as almost completely docile in comparison to him. The book made Hindley much more violent and terrible, and during the movie, he had some one-liners, but he was more in the shadows.

Overall, I'm glad I could compare the book and the movie. I watched the 1992 version, and I found it rather enjoyable. I think it is interesting to compare original thoughts on the text to a movie production. It shows all the different ways of interpreting the same text.

Class, Characters, and Crashes

...sorry I was not here Friday :-( I am still battling a bit of the flu, but I am here today!

"What does _______ do to help people better understand scene_______ in book?"
-->This is the prompt!

Wuthering Heights
...another day, another experience...

These characters aren't nice! Do they get what they deserve?

-Think about the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. Are they soul mates? Their love is so destructive. They are not "the best versions" of themselves when they're together. Their worst qualities come out when they're together.
-Perhaps Edgar is misinterpreting what the relationship is between Heathcliff and Catherine. Their relationship IS confusing.
-Page 101 in our books: look at the relationship between Nelly, a servant, and Catherine and the others. Nelly does EVERYTHING. One would have to have a somewhat intimate relationship with their servants because the servants are with them all the time. Class is what makes this distinguished relationship between the servers and the served. People become used to being waited on, and they get irritated when things go wrong.
-->Nelly does NOT adore Catherine, and she is quick to point out her faults. Catherine can be very narcissistic.
-Heathcliff is extremely perverse with his relationship with Isabella. He does not love her, but he wants to punish her like a voodoo doll for Edgar. His true anger is with Edgar, her brother.
-Heathcliff's emotions. "You married some guy instead of me!" Heathcliff is pissed! He wanted and should be Catherine's wife. The only reason she married Edgar is because of class! Catherine loved Heathcliff much more than she loved Edgar, but it all came down to class in the end.
-->Heathcliff: "You needn't be jealous of me. I'm not your husband." Catherine: "I'm jealous for you." This is all in realtion to Heathcliff's relationship with Isabella.
-Heathcliff wants revenge! Not for Catherine; he loves her and would never want to hurt her. He wants to marry Isabella to seek revenge on Edgar. Also taking power over the entire Linton family. They were a wealthy family, and he wants to soil thier good name. He is doing whatever he can to tear down thier name and heritage.
-->Remember that it is HINDLEY who ruined Heathcliff's potential because he made him a servant, whereas Mr. Earnshaw wanted Heathcliff to be raised as a child just like Catherine and Hindley. Heathcliff could have been wealthy too!
-The only reason Heathcliff is staying at Wuthering Heights is because Hindley invited him. Clearly, Heathcliff had money. Heathcliff is entitled to Wuthering Heights legally
-Hindley's child is a mess!
-Heathcliff has been tortured all his life. He cannot take joy in anything. He has never experienced joy and has been humiliated all of his life.
-->Remember that Isabella and Edgar have made fun of him and called him a servant for all of his younger life, and this has stuck with him.
-->Heathcliff HATES Isabella. He is REPULSED by her. He wants to degrade the Lintons. He wants to bring them down to lower than his level.

-Catherine dies. She is going insane a bit because she is not allowed to be with Heathcliff.

What is a soul mate?
Someone who can talk with one another and always provide honest answers, and whatnot. But what are Catherine and Heathcliff.

Are Catherine and Heathcliff soul mates?

Man of Mystery: Heathcliff

When I was in high school, I read Wuthering Heights for the first time. I struggled to interest myself in the plot, and my mother would time me and make read for 45 minute increments. It just took me the longest time to get into it. Over time, though, it was Heathcliff's character that made me so interested in the plot. I don't know what I envisioned in my head, but I always thought about what his outward appearence may have been. To me, he was very "Phantom of the Opera"-esque. Mysterious, wore a dark black cloak, etc. He was forlorn, but for some deep good reason.
After I read the book, we watched the movie in class, and they portrayed Heathcliff as animal-like, and I didn't like it. He was like a circus freak... dark, in a bad way.

Now, during my second time reading the book, I imagine Heathcliff as the dark and handsome Johnny Depp type. I am more sympathetic toward him than I was the first time. I can understand his character on a deeper level. I think about the number of times that others hurt him and humiliated him. I put myself into his shoes. How would I act and feel after being put down time after time. He's like an abandoned and abused animal who finds himself in a welcoming home, only to be skiddish and sharp-mannered around his new owners who cannot completely understand his actions.

Wuthering Heights

The Bronte Sisters Emily Bronte, the writer of "Wuthering Heights"





The Bronte sisters were all talented in writing, and they all have books that are considered classics today. They read and write as a family. Interesting comment on women writing during the time.

Wuthering Heights

Lockwood is head-over-heels in love with a woman, and she loves him back. It is clear between the two of them. AND THEN! What does he do?! NOTHING! He hides and runs away and turns his back. She feels like an idiot for sharing her feelings.
-->Loving the unattainable...

Q. What does setting up a character like Lockwood do for the novel?
A. He enjoys making Heathcliff uncomfortable. Lockwood enjoys meeting someone who wants to having nothing to do with him.

Q. Why is Lockwood at Wuthering Heights?
A. He is going away from society after what has happened with the woman he loved.

Q. Impression of Heathcliff:
A. He is selfish. He is 37. He has a son who has died. He has a daughter-in-law, Catherine, that he is cruel toward. He has his servants. Terrible to his dogs: he is violent and kicks them.

Maxilary Convulsions: grinding your teeth so that you don't cry.
-->What men do before they start crying (think John!)

Cyber Rape vs. Real Rape

We met in a small group of three, and we were somewhat divided on whether or not cyber rape was similar (and how) to real life rape. We were divided by whether or not the physical aftermath of rape is stronger than the emotional. I feel that the emotional side is very important and it is the same as real rape. Cyberspace gives an individual a sense of power that he may not have in real life, therefore, his words have the potential to become extremely strong.

• Emotional investment with the people "living" in the online world. Think about novels and things we've read and watched that have traumatized us. Some of these things can be life-altering-- and they're in made up worlds!!!!
• What kind of mind could imagine creepy things like this?!
• Human confrontation with a monstrous imagination
• There is an emotional investment in watching or reading about a character. What is the emotional investment in BEING character? Is there something different about being an avatar?
• What is a REAL person's relationship with his AVATAR?
• Think about people who kill themselves and are severely emotionally injured by Myspace and Facebook interactions
• Are there more emotional involvements when being the avatar than when reading and watching a character?
• "Computer Fraud"... mother told the girl that the world would be a better place without her
• Emotional investment of people with avatars
• Before the avatar, writers could not write in this way...
• Trauma during 9/11. People watching TV and seeing the horrors of what people did and what happened. It is depressing for many people, but why do we need to see this? We don't need to be traumatized. News is traumatizing for many people. So many horrible images are replayed again and again. Violence sells.
  

Rape in Cyberspace

Julian Dibbell

I guess my generation is the one who has more or less grown up with the innovations of internet, chat rooms, and other online ventures. I remember when I was in middle and elementary school, my parents feared that I would be accosted by some online pervert, as those stories permeated the news at the time. Even today, you hear of people meeting on Myspace or Facebook, meeting up, and well, bad news bears from that point on. Chatrooms, I believe, have somewhat died out, but I remember when they were extremely popular and came complimentary with internet providers like AOL and Mindspring.
Cyberspace has created a new world for many people, and some people feel very involved in them. With "Rape in Cyberspace," we learn of Mr. Bungle, aka the man my parents warned me about when I was growing up with the internet. He was vile and perverted, needless to say. The interesting part is, however, no one physically saw him. Everything he did was through the swift power of his keyboard.
Personally, I find his ambiguous identity is more fearful. He is mysterious and not in a good, compelling way. He is wearing the ultimate disguise. My imagination runs wild with images of "Silence of the Lambs."
After reading the article, I feel that the power of the word is essentially more powerful than the body on an emotional level. Those who were affected by this creature still suffered from the post-trauma that other rape victims feel. People with low-confidence are known to build their confidence online and become a person who they wish they could be; they can create thier own identity. They can SAY whatever they want.
Physically reading the vulgar words that Mr. Bungle typed made me feel uncomfortable, and I was only reading the reprint. I belive that he did commit rape, even though he never phyisically touched or harmed anyone. "The body is the mind" when in cyberspace. That is all one has to go by, and I believe that that is proof that it is equally as strong.
I was slightly taken aback by the entire "toading" concept, and that some people wanted to turn him into a toad but feared it was too close to the controversial death penalty. I believe that further action should have been taken.
Maybe it's simply because several years have passed since the date of this article, but online-sexual predators are not taken lightly, and they can be tried as any other crime committed in the real world.

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

-She wrote all this is response to a question about women's relationship with fiction
-Why hasn't there been a female Shakespeare?!
-->It will happen in 100 years..! We hope..! Still waiting for 2028... women have not been given the same oppotunities for these amount of years

Why is there no female Shakespeare?
-Women have not been given the same oppotunities in education
-Women have been creating for centuries... in the medium of the home

-Think about Shakespeare's time... MEN were the ones who played women; women were not to act!
-->Women actors and writers were considered whores because, naturally, they just wanted to be with men... HA!
-->Men have a very high opinion of themselves, don't they?

Should women write like men, according to Woolf?
-Anybody who writes with a chip on their shoulder
-Think about when the man told her she could not walk on the grass because she was a woman. Her body differs from those [men] who are allowed on the grass
-->Prejudices... in the 1920's LESS THAN A CENTURY AGO!
-All the men are writing like MEN because of the women's movement
-->The way that men establish their own self confidence by putting down others
-->"It's not me I hate; it's her."
-By women writing like women and men writing like men, it is further increasing the problems.

Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft: Her Story

Mary Wollstonecraft grew up in a family with an abusive father. She started a school; she was well educated. She was considered to be a radical for women's rights.
Originally, she published "Vindication of the Rights of Men" anonymously. She said that it is irrational to distinguish between the classes of men. Later, she rights "Vindication of the Rights of Woman."
-->What does THE WOMAN indicate? Individualism? She is isolating THE WOMAN as a class of persons who have been treated the same throughout time.
Think, in relation of "men," she is referring to all humans. "Man" is the most normal of all human beings.
-->Man= the average human. Men are better, is the hint. Saying "mankind" is not correct anymore. Too many people have been offended. Men is meaning all people.
-Woman being used as a class, a category...

Vindication of the Rights of Women
-She is equally as hard on women as she is on men. NO MERCY!
-Society, as a system, through education trains women not to be virtuous, rational, and "manly." Society rewards women's immorality and irrational.
-Women have been degraded by female weakness. Women
-Women have been "believing" in this system, so they have been trying to find other ways to get power by "tyrannizing" the system.
-She believes in a meritocracy: one should rise due to their merits and goodness
-What about subordination? The idea that some are above others in society.
-->Subordination induced immorality! When people are trying to be better "graded," they are more likely to be immoral and do whatever is needed to be less subordinate.
-Mary Wollstonecraft wants everyone to be thinking for themselves and not worrying about others! Do what is best for yourself

Chapter 2

-Women are degraded by these morals because of the societal aim of making them more sensual to men.
-Women in comparison of soldiers: manners before morals.
-->Soldiers are "educated in the same way as women." If you educate men to behave in the same way as women, they will behave in the same way.
-Soliders= women. Women are not naturally inferior! They are NURTURED to be inferior. They are educated the same way as women.

-In terms of Rousseau, he spoke to the equality of MAN. Not women... needless to say, Wollstonecraft is not a fan of his.

Chapter 3

-Why do men adore women?
-Liberate women, and they will have less power... [I don't understand this...]
-Proving to men that women have a "puny appetite" because that is appealing to men, perhaps
-Women have more power playing on the weakness of men
-->Women who have "slept their way to the top." Become so alluring and attractive that men will elevate you to an ideal and thus worship you. That way, women will get what they want.
BUT THIS IS WRONG, according to Wollstonecraft.
-Restoring women as a humanity

-Women have been given too much. It is now time for women to work.
-Wollstonecraft proposes that women need to work harder to get what they want, rather than being given everything they wish to have.
-Both men and women need to reform.
-Wollstonecraft believed in virtue.
-->Allusion to her love life...not "married" to the man, but had his child, said she loved him, etc. He did not feel the same way.
-Wollestonecraft is very self-sufficient.
-She believed in absolute chastity, but your word should always hold true.
-->She was very consistent on her beliefs! VIRTUE IS NUMERO UNO!
-Virtue: honesty and transparency
-Her opinions on absolute republicanism
-Anna Barbowe allusion.
-->Butterflies?! No way, Jose!
-Every individual is a world in herself! People should act according to their individuality and their own opinions.

Mary Wollstonecraft

It is interesting, really. When I was younger, I guess I did think of me, being a girl, as being the weaker sex. I remember during P.E., girls would have dance two days a week, while the boys, with the absence of the girls, would play football and baseball. Whenever the girls and boys played together, we would play gender-neutral games like freeze tag and four square and soccer. I never really thought much of it; I was never jealous of the boys or anything. I remember the girls would have one dance recital per semester, and when the boys would watch us, they would jeer and hoot at us and mock us. We didn't think anything of it; we were all about six years old. Boys played football, girls took dance lessons.

The more I think about it, though, the more I realize how much gender segregation there is at such a young age, and young children do not really notice it. Now, as I've gotten older and learned more, I am more attuned to things like this.

I enjoyed reading Mary Wollstonecraft's "The Rights of a Woman" because I felt that it spoke to many of these points that I have observed over the years.

The Truth Behind the Cinderella Story

Do men and women feel the pressures of the "Cinderella" story?
-Women need to be tall, thin, and beautiful
-->Women should be in distress! Someone will need to help you in order to meet THE ONE!
-->Temptation to failure?
-Men need to have money and be successful financially
-->Men are under a lot of pressure in our society, too!


Think about all the messages that art, music, and books send to everyone...

A Cinderella Story...Holly Madison

Meet Holly Madison.
Thin
Blond.
Tan.
Want more info? Great just go to Wikipedia, and you will find that in addition to her basic statistics of height, hair color, and eye color, there is also a blurb for "Measurements."
So...
Measurements: 36D-23-36

Now look up Barbara Walters. Where are her measurements, huh?!

Needless to say, Holly Madison is a star on the E! hit TV show, "The Girls Next Door." The "girls" are the acclaimed Playboy Bunnies in Hugh Hefner's mansion. I've seen the show a few times, and I won't lie, there are parts that are slightly humorous, and I may or may not have sat for an hour or so watching repeated episodes.

I always ask myself, though, what is it that brings these girls to get on this show? Why would a girl become a Playboy bunny? Where do they even go to do such a thing?

Madison's background, however, is interesting. She grew up in a lower-middle class family in Oregon, and her father constantly traveled, as he worked for the timber industry. When the time came for her to go to college, she competed in a bikini competition and worked at Hooters to earn money, as she, on her own, could not afford to go.

It was here that Playboy took notice. They asked her to join the mansion, an accepting group that would welcome her.

Over time, though, as Holly earned fame, she decided to get a nose job. After that, a breast augmentation. She speaks openly about her "adjustments," but it is all just to fit in.

Here is where my point lies. Women (and men) struggle to fit the perfect mold of what it is to be aesthetically pleasing in society. For nearly as long as I can remember, I will look in a mirror and glance at my thighs, skin, hair-- anything-- and wish that it looked different in some way.

Cinderella's are everywhere. Holly Madison did not grow up with a great amount of money, but the mansion accepted her. Is she truly happy, though, with a geriatric Hugh Hefner glued to her hip? Is he her prince?

Angela Carter: "The Bloody Chamber"

The Courtship of Mr. Lyon

As a young girl, I was captivated by the story of The Beauty and the Beast. Whenever I take an online "What Disney Princess Are You" quiz, my answer is always sputtered out to be the same: Belle. It didn't take me long to pick up on the parallels between the two stories.
People often do not look at the true meanings behind certain fairy tales. I related to this one because I was captivated by the way that one can look at this story in terms of a masculine/ feminine way. It is the reaction to the "otherness."
-Comparison to "Taming of the Shrew?"
-Differences in genderings...genetic vs. natural-ness
-Male potential to violence
-Even at young ages, men know they are strong and have an acclivity toward violence
**Mr. Lyon shows his wildness, but he is loved anyway!
-Parable to masculinity/violence...femininity/disgust to the masculinity


The Bloody Chamber
-Perhaps women are the ones who unlock the violence within men
-The "bloody chamber" could also symbolize the womb... bleeding on her wedding night. The act of consummation as stabbing...
-Room= womb; Room= potential for male violence
-She is taking charge of her sexuality
-The mother rides in at the last night to save her daughter from execution
-The piano tuner is a male and has the violent potential, but his blindness has muted his masculine potential
-->He cannot see the red mark... think Scarlet Letter! Her red mark marks the knowledge she has in her head now.
-She is impressed with her own corruption.
-When she enters chamber, she is realizing her ability to be corrupted (sexually and physically)
-->Falling more and more away from natural human discourse. She sees the "murkiness."
-"We're all looking for a piano-tuner husband who will accept you for who you are, despite all your knowledge."
-This may be a representation of normal discourse between a man and wife. Some part of that man must be "tamed" into a piano tuner. This may be telling the facts better than the true facts tell the facts.

Amputations...of the Woman

The Cinderella Complex
Colleen Dowling

Like most girls, I have always looked to my mother as a role model. I found her way of doing things and living life the norm. My mother was married at the age of thirty-nine to my father and had me at age forty. Many would find this strange and absurd, but to me, it is perfectly normal. While my mother has never encouraged me one way or another to marry young or old, I think of her every time I think about my personal life. The independence my mother has had is something that she holds with great pride. If I marry young, will I loose this? What does this mean? I do NOT want to live like my mother, but I want independence.

I think, perhaps due to my mother (a business woman), I feel pushed to find a job and be independent. Yet, there is something in me that wants to get married, too and be different from my mother. I believe that I can find an intermediary between the two.

(Side Note: When I was in high school, I did theatre. We put on a play by Studs Terkel called Working. There was a character, a housewife, who sang a song, which I find quite pertinent:

All I am is just a housewife
Nothing special, nothing great
What I do is kinda boring
If you'd rather, it can wait
All I am is someone's mother
All I am is someone's wife
All of which seems unimportant
All it is is
Just my life

All I am is just a housewife
Just a housewife, nothing great
What I do is "out of fashion"
What I feel is out of date
All I am is someone's mother
Right away I'm not too bright
What I do is unfulfulling
So the T.V. talk-shows tell me every night

Moving now to the artistic retelling of stories... does art help or counteract ideology?

I'm a little foggy on what I'm saying here, but I'll do my best..! Or at least I'll call this the "Elizabeth Interpretation." When I read Jeanette Winterson's "Weight," I am reminded of a riddle I heard when I was about in the seventh grade that has kind of always stuck with me. I goes like this: A man and his son were in a dreadful car accident in which the man was killed on scene. The son recieved severe brain trauma and damage, but he could have an extremely risky surgery to have a shot at life. The family opts to have the surgery for the boy, but then the surgeon walks in, looks down at the boy and says, "I cannot operate. This is my son." Who is the surgeon?
If you ask the common person, the response is most likely, the grandfather, God, the unlce, the step-father, the brother.... Rarely does someone say the true answer: the mother.
Winterson, I believe, is speaking of how certain art like fairy tales gives one the expectation of how something will play out. The reason the obvious answer to the riddle becomes almost funny is because it is not what is expected in a patriarchial society. Art can counteract the expectations, and I believe that is why it is called art.

Ashputtle: Or, the Mother's Ghost
Angela Carter

The child starts off burned. The lesson in this story is independence. We don't know if she actually learns the lesson or not. She gets the man...then what? It's not happily ever after...but what is it?

...the next day...

Anne Sexton


-The use of "once:" less dramatic, as opposed to once upon a time
-The bird DROPPED down the dress and delicate little slippers
-->Bird droppings, crap, sicko...
-Cinderella is still mourning for her mother after her death; her father, however, moves on no problem
-THIS TIME, CINDERELLA FIT INTO THE SHOE: does this mean that she is the same person as her stepsisters???
-->Women "amputating" themselves to fit in to society...
-->Women all trying to look the same
-Anne Sexton does have an interest in her writing with psychological thinking (like Freud)
-Happily ever after?
-->To fight does not mean that someone is unhappy... fighting is ok in a relationship
-->But what is "happy?"
-->Getting everything you want does not yield happiness; if you get everything you want, it looses its specialness
-Cinderella didn't do anything (she never worked; the animals did everything for her and everything was dropped in front of her)
-->Was she really so pious? If you just be something, then you will get happiness; you may not even have to do anything
-Cinderella starts of wealthy, and when she loses it, she is on a mission to regain her status






Fairy Tales: What is their purpose? What does it say about art?

-What do children see/read in fairy tales?
-Pig Story
-What does art do to the instinct of hunger for the wolf?
-The wolf challenges him... art challenges us!
-Karl Marx: "Religion is the opiate of the people."
-What is art in relation to us as humans?