Women’s Post-Victorian Short Fiction

Women’s Post-Victorian Short Fiction:

An Attempt to Poeticise Prose

Carina MenĂĄn

Second semester

Cecilia Lasa

2015

T

Women’s Post-Victorian Short Fiction: An Attempt to Poeticise Prose he five short texts selected for this course have a recurrent feature in common: the

challenge of the traditional nineteenth century prose through the experimentation of a poetical approach. This controversial attitude is not reduced to mere formal

explorations but it correlates to deeper concerns connected with definitions of language and literature, the status of female and male writing and the circulation of their works.

Every fortnightly Saturday we will meet in Caballito from 3 to 4.30 pm to reflect on these issues in the light of critical and theoretical contributions that have set the initial paths

undertaken by feminist studies. We will also watch some videos and films in the midst of a pleasant and encouraging atmosphere with warm tea and some delicacies.

What will we read?

First session on August 22nd

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“The Story of an Hour”, by Kate Chopin

Joy that kills” is the defining feature of Chopin’s protagonist. Why is her hour of joy oxymoronic? Does it have to do with our conception of joy in society? We will explore the conditions for women’s fictional production by studying the construction of the main character in the short story. We will do so in the light of a seminal text in literary theory and

criticism, Gilbert and Gubar’s “Infection in the Sentence”.

Second session on September 5th

A

“The Moving Finger”, by Edith Wharton story of jealousy and vengeance on a surface level, Wharton’s production presents us with a woman who, of

course, is an object of desire. But can she be, at the same time, a vehicle for a reflection upon art? Does gender affect aesthetic productions? These are some of the questions that will guide our analysis of this American literary

text, along the lines of Virginia Woolf’s insightful contributions in her A Room of One’s Own.

Third session on September 19th

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“The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

nitially understood as a reflection upon postpartum depression, this fictional piece has more to show than meets the eye… and the “I”. What kind of paper is the yellow wallpaper, which the protagonist cannot refrain from looking at?

What is her eye meeting? What is her “I” doing as she sees it? We will attempt an answer by scrutinising this short story

according to what Gilbert and Gubar claim in “Infection in the Sentence”.

Fourth session on October 3rd

W

“Bliss”, by Katherine Mansfield

hat does a woman, at the beginning of the twentieth century, desire? What makes her feel a sudden, unquenchable, almost unbearable bliss? This text shows a joy which does not kill, … or does it? To approach this story, and to enrich our theoretical framework, we will read Juliet Mitchell’s “Femininity,

Narrative and Psychoanalysis”.

Fifth session on October 17th “The Lady in the looking-Glass: A reflection�, by Virginia Woolf

O

ur corpus, of course, cannot remain oblivious to the fictional voice created by Virginia Woolf. In this narrative we will witness the glamorous, exciting, fascinating life of a Victorian woman. But is this in fact what society has set aside for her? In this final session we will also have the presence of a French feminist, Simone de

Beauvoir, to accompany us in our journey through the story.

How will you profit from these sessions?  You’ll acquire a deeper and a broader insight into the post-Victorian short fiction written by women so as to ponder on the label “female writing”;  You’ll receive a virtual folder with the texts to be discussed;  You’ll count on our guidance and tools to understand unavoidable and enlightening critical and theoretical contributions;  You’ll be offered suggestions to develop your insights in films;  You’ll be given assessment if interested in harbouring your own reading hypothesis;  You’ll have a little present at the end of the course,

Who will be your tutors?

C

arina Menán is a Teacher of English graduated from IES en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández”. She also holds a degree as a Teacher of Language and Literature from Universidad de Buenos Aires, where she has specialised in literature by means of a two-year graduate course –adscripción. . In 2011 she was granted a scholarship to attend the Globe Cultural

Seminar in London by the English Speaking Union. She is currently taking the second and last year of the Specialisation in Reading, Writing and Education at Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales –FLACSO–. She is working in the area of Literature and Cultural Studies in secondary schools, IS “Daguerre”, ISP “Dr. Joaquín V. González” and IES en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández”.

C

ecilia Lasa is a Teacher of English graduated from IES en Lenguas Vivas “Juan R. Fernández”. She has specialised in literature by means of a two-year postgraduate course –adscripción– at such an institute as well as through a graduate course – adscripción– at Universidad de Buenos Aires. She has also finished her Specialisation in Reading, Writing and Education at

Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales –FLACSO–. She is currently writing her dissertation paper for her Master’s Degree in Literatures in Foreign Languages and Comparative Literatures. She is working as a Teacher of Literature in English in secondary schools and ISP “Dr. Joaquín V. González”, ENS en Lenguas Vivas “Sofía E. B. de Spangenberg” and Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Payment Each session costs $ 200. If the five sessions are paid in advance you’ll have a 15% discount.

If you and two more friends enroll together, the full amount for the course is $800 each.

Contact For enrollment –preferably, before August 20th- and further information, contact us at cecilia_ev_lasa@hotmail.com and cmenan@hotmail.com.