19th century literature is filled with images of illness. Reading it should make us grateful to the advances in medical science.
Tag Archives: Jane Eyre
Illness in 19th Century Lit
Standing Up to a Bully President
Pelosi standing up to Trump with an impeachment inquiry is reminiscent of Jane Eyre standing up to her bullying cousin John Reid.
Rich Bullies in the Admissions Scandal
Tuesday Several weeks ago I came across an insider’s account of the college admissions scandal from an English-teacher-turned-college counselor. In sharing her view of prep school parents, Caitlin Flanagan cited Jane Eye and Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Although Flanagan doesn’t report on any illegal behavior from the ambitious parents she encountered, she daily saw the […]
The Meaning of Hell
Spiritual Sunday Stephen Greenblatt, the world’s preeminent Shakespearean, has an article about hell in the latest issue of the New York Review of Books that has me thinking about a subject I generally avoid. It’s a smart piece but fairly grim. For the most part, my view of hell is the one set forth in […]
Bronte on Eye Plucking, Hand Severing
One of Jesus’s most graphic images serves Jane Eyre in a moment of supreme testing.
Is Sexist Lit Gaslighting Women?
A Guardian article argues that critical praise for sexist male authors valorizes patriarchal attitudes.
Literature’s Revolutionary Power
The concept of “unleashing,” used to explain much of today’s upheaval, can also be applied to literature that changes lives.
Jane Eyre on Caring for the Sick
As I support people who are sick and aging, I turn to Jane Eyre as a model of one who considers such activity to be, not a self-sacrifice, but a gift to herself.
Jane Eyre, Still Groundbreaking
In her senior project, one of my students looked at four film adaptations of “Jane Eyre” and concluded that Bronte’s novel is more radical than all but one of them.