Studies in Fiction (313-0-20)

Topic

Desire and Danger in the 19th Century Novel

Instructors

Jules Law

Meeting Info

University Hall 101: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Desire is the field in which we put our very identity, autonomy and independence at risk. At the same time, romantic and erotic desire are the motors not only of social relations but of narratives and fiction. In novels, we as readers hang as much on the outcome of romantic entanglements as we do on the solution of crimes. This course explores how our own desires and those of fictional characters become entangled in what we might call "narrative desire."

The refraction of desire through language presses us to ask: What are the lines that distinguish desire from pleasure, pain, instinct, identification and dis-identification? What are the principal metaphors by which desire is represented, and what ambiguities do such metaphors involve? Is desire defined more by its object or its form? And what are the dangers of identifying with the characters and outcomes of a supremely "plotted" world? We will look at three classic novels in which the dangers of desire are figured, variously, as perversity, faith, sexual violence, betrayal, blood, and addiction.

Note: 19th-century England was an intensely hierarchical society. Representations of, and attitudes toward, gender and race in the 19th century will not conform to our own notions, and we may find the casual and unreflective way in which their prejudices are expressed to be highly dismaying. We may legitimately want to assess how this literature continues to find relevance for our own culture. One of the novels, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, alludes to an episode of sexual assault. I don't take this lightly or without awareness of the fact that this may be a traumatic or triggering topic for you. The novel is nonetheless important for our historical and conceptual understanding of the relationship between sexual violence and aesthetics. We will consider the relationship between sexual violence then and now, and I will provide information about the support resources available here on campus. Accommodations will certainly be made for students who need to work around particular classes or assignments.

Teaching Method

This is a unique course in that it is organized something more like a graduate seminar. There will be a substantial final paper, but the bulk of your work in this course will consist in your regular contribution to the seminar discussions, and in the two formal seminar presentations that you will make to the class. If you are not willing to prepare in a concentrated way for class meetings, this is not the course for you. You can check the CTECs to see if students find this a rewarding way to learn!

Evaluation Method

2 seminar papers (20% each), seminar contribution (20%), final paper (40%).

Class Materials (Required)

Texts (available at Norris bookstore):

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (Penguin, 9780141441146)
Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Broadview Press 2nd ed, 9781551117515)
Bram Stoker, Dracula (Oxford, 9780199564095).

Please note that it is IMPORTANT to acquire the specific editions listed OR to have an edited digital version of the novels, so we can all "be on the same page." The ideal solution would be to have both a hard copy of the recommended edition, and to consult a free digital edition for search purposes.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a special case. It was published in several conflicting editions during Hardy's lifetime. If you don't acquire the edition ordered for the class, there will be some important passages and episodes missing from your edition.

Rudimentary digital versions of all three novels are available at gutenberg.org and on the university library's "Nineteenth Century Fiction" database. Since these are not highly edited version (they do not have explanatory notes, etc), they are best for word searches rather than for your primary reading. Here is the URL for the library site:

http://philologic.northwestern.edu.turing.library.northwestern.edu/philologic/ncf.whizbang.form.html

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area