O Wicked Wickham

Militia's presence- political context. Their arrival in Meryton village is significant to the novel. Their presence is something more "malicious" as it was to Britain from the French invasion at that time. On another level, their presence also introduces Mr. Wickham the antangonist.

Wickham
- always talks about himself, shows he is an attention seeker and is always trying to gain sympathy from the likes of Elizabeth so that they will take his side against Darcy.
- appears on the surface to be neutral and compromising
-manipulative and cunning, manages to fool Elizabeth and the rest
- rhetoric: repeated use of "I"

You may lie on my first on the side of the stream
And my second compose to the nymph
But if when you're none of my whole, her esteem
And affection deminish- think of her no more


-Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice- Gender and Genre

"...when a young lady professes to be of a different opinion from her friends, it is only a prelude to something wors.--She begins by saying that she is determined to think for herself, and she is determined to act for herself--and then it is all over with her" - "Belinda" by Maria Edgeworth
think Lydia and her "animal spirits"

a) What would you say the difference is between:
(i) Female, feminine and feminist
(ii) Male and masculine

b) What constitute 'feminity':
(i) Today?
(ii) In Austen's time?

c)What constitutes 'masculinity':
(i) Today?
(ii) In Austen's time?

d) Do you have to be female to be feminine or male to be masculine?
NO. Lady Catherine has the habit of exercising her authority in a way similar to what male figures of authority would do. Therefore she is female yet tries to establish her status by acting masculine.

"I often wonder how you can find time for what you can do, inaddition to the care of the house; and how good Mrs. Qest could have written such books and collected so many hard works, with all her family cares, is still more a mtter of astonishment! Composition seems to me impossible with a head full of joints of mutton and doses of rhubarb." -Jane Austen, letter of Sept 8 1816 to Cassandra

Themes related to gender:
-marriage
-class
-inheritance (Men always got the better portion of the parent's estate, and land and homes were entailed to the nearest male relative)
-manners
-love and courtship
-visiting conventions- relationships
-education

Women during Austen's society were often thought to be weak, passive, and their existence was mainly to be a pleasure to men. People like Jean Jacques Rousseau, James Fordyce and Dr. John Gregory were known to advocate this perception of women. Therefore, women like Elizabeth Bennet show their independence and genuity by standing up for themselves. GO GIRL POWER! ^^

-pokes blog-

hi ho hi ho, it's almost a year since the awesome Meridians made their mark on Cambridge, if you haven't forgotten. this blog's kinda collecting dust even before we left, so um, i'm gonna try to revive this thingie okay? anyone who wants to post please email mel at sparkie_rox@msn.com. yup :) okay, keep your eye on this page, 'cos i'm gonna add some more stuff here, like what we learnt at Cambridge, places we went to and stuff like that :) cheerio

Owari.
-magekin.