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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