English 285
11:30 MWF
112 Armstrong
Fall 2002

Carolyn Nelson
Office: 329 Stansbury
Office Hours: 10:30- 11:20 MWF
cnelson2@wvu.edu

Images of Women in Literature

Required Tests:
Edith Wharton, Summer (Bantam)
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (Oxford)
Ibsen, Four Major Plays (Oxford)
Glennis Stephenson, ed., Nineteenth-Century Stories by Women (Broadview)
Jane Smiley, The Age of Grief (Random House)

Readings and Assignments

The stories listed are in Nineteenth-Century Stories by Women. Novels are listed by title on the syllabus.

8/19 Introduction
8/21 Atwood, "Death by Landscape," [Handout]
8/23 Montgomery, "The Red Room," 385-99

8/26 Braddon, "Good Lady Ducayne," 77-99
8/28 Wharton, Summer, Chapters 1-4
8/30 Wharton, Chapters 5-7

9/2 Labor Day
9/4 Wharton, Chapters 8-10
9/6 Wharton, Chapters 11 - 13

9/9 Wharton, Chapters 14-16
9/11 Wharton, Chapters 17 - 18
9/13 Test #1

9/16 Chopin, "The Storm," 105-10; Dunbar-Nelson, "Sister Josepha," 183-89
9/18 Davis,"Anne," 165-78
9/20 Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper," 311-29

9/23 Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Volume I, Chapters 1-14
9/25 Austen, Volume I, Chapters 15-23
9/27 Austen, Volume II, Chapters 1-10

9/30 Austen, Volume II, Chapters 11 - 19
10/2 Austen, Volume III, Chapters 1-5
10/4 Austen, Volume III, Chapters 6-12

10/7 Austen, Volume III, Chapters 13-19
10/9 Test #2
10/11 Freeman, "A New England Nun," 231 -44

10/14 Ibsen, A Doll's House, Act 1
10/16 Ibsen,Act2
10/18 Ibsen, Act 3

10/21 Ibsen, Hedda Gabler, Act 1
10/23 Ibsen, Acts 2 & 3
10/25 Ibsen, Act 4

10/28 Test #3
10/30 Gaskell, "Lizzie Leigh," 249-69
11/1 Gaskell, 269-82

11/4 Alcott, "A Whisper in the Dark," 23-44
11/6 Alcott, 44-68
11/8 Oliphant, "Story of a Wedding Tour," 403-24

11/11 Smiley, "The Pleasure of Her Company" in The Age of Grief
11/13 Smiley, "Long Distance"
11/15 Smiley, "The Age of Grief"

11/18 Smiley, "The Age of Grief"
11/20 Smiley, "The Age of Grief"
11/22 Smiley, "The Age of Grief"

Thanksgiving Recess 11/23 to 12/1

12/2 Smiley,"Lily"
12/4 Smiley,"Lily"
12/6 Discussion of take-home final exam

Take home final exam: Put your exam in my mailbox in 231 Stansbury by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11.

Policies and Requirements

This course will examine relationships in the lives of women of various ages and in many different circumstances as they are presented to us in fiction and drama of the l9th and 20th centuries.

Attendance: In order to get the greatest benefit from the class, it is important to read the assigned material for the day before coming to class. Always bring your book to class with you. You are permitted to have 4 absences. After that, 3 points per absence will be subtracted from your final grade. If some crisis comes up in your life, you need to notify me as well as the university immediately, not at the end of the semester. If you have any questions about the assignments or your progress in the course, please see me during office hours or send me an e-mail message.

Class Discussions: Students are expected to contribute in a meaningful way to the class discussion. Class participation does not mean that you simply need to talk a lot in class. Rather, it means contributing ideas and insights that have taken into consideration the class readings and other students' contributions.

Response Papers: You are required to write response papers on the readings for 8 of the 15 weeks of the semester. Hand these in on Friday. Include a brief discussion of some of the events of the story or play, looking closely at the women and the choices they make. Don't just provide a plot summary of the material or make remarks such as "I found this story to be boring." Such responses will receive low grades. The responses should be typed, with appropriate headings, and will receive from O to 5 points. They cannot be made up at a later date. Do not send these papers by email.

Presentation: Students who would like to make a presentation to the class or lead the discussion on one of the readings for the day are encouraged to do so. This presentation should be about 10 minutes and can take a variety of forms, such as handing out questions for discussion, assigning student groups a question or topic to discuss among

themselves, having a quiz in the form of a game, etc. Don't just read notes to the class. Be creative and be sure to get the class involved. Depending on the quality of the presentation, you will get from O to 5 points added to your total final grade.

Grades: Your grade will be calculated on the basis of the points seen below. The tests must be taken on the assigned day.

Reading Responses: 8 x 5 points each     40 points
Tests: 3 x 14 points each                     42
Final Exam:                                        14
Participation:                                       4