Slide 1RecapEmily Brontë (1818-1848)Wuthering Heights (1847)NarratorsCharacter(iztaion)Group ActivityClose ReadingFor ThursdayEmily Brontë & DiseaseVictorian Death & DiseaseSlide 12Slide 13History of MedicineHistory of MedicineTorgerson’s ArgumentDisease in Wuthering HeightsDisease as Narrative Frame & Illness as PowerKym WeedENGL123.003, Fall 2016Tues, 9/6/16 & Thurs, 9/8/16Recap•Novel vs. Short Story•Hawthorne’s “Lady Eleanore’s Mantle”•Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”Emily Brontë (1818-1848)•Born in Thornton, Yorkshire to clergyman•Mother died of cancer in 1821; mother’s sister raised children•Sent to Clergy Daughters’ School at age of 6•Oldest sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, died of tuberculosis in 1825•Enjoyed making up stories and writing poetry with surviving siblings, Charlotte, Branwell, & Anne•Branwell, Emily, and Anne all died of tuberculosis between 1848 and 1849Wuthering Heights (1847)•Published under pseudonym, Ellis Bell•Romantic or gothic?•Frame story•Reaction against rationalism•Emphasize emotions, individuals, and imagination•Nature as source of knowledge or refuge•Ominous, gloomy•Supernatural beings•Exotic settings•Character double•Innocent heroine•Death•Characters driven by negative emotionsNarrators•1st person = narrator is a character; refers to self as “I”•Consonant vs. Dissonant•2nd person = refers to protagonist as “you”•3rd person = narrator not a character; refers to characters as “he/she”•Limited vs. Omniscient•All can be singular or pluralRecommended Reading: Ch3: “Narrative Situation: Who’s Who an What’s its Function” in Suzanne Keen’s Narrative Form (2003)Character(iztaion)•Character = “those anthropomorphic entities who carry our the plot actions of narratives [and] strongly resemble real people” (Keen 57)•Flat vs. Round•Characterization = how authors conveys information (like personality or traits) about a character•Direct vs. Indirect•Important to “recognize and respect” difference between real people and fictional charactersRecommended Reading: Ch4: “People on Paper: Character, Characterization, and Represented Minds” in Suzanne Keen’s Narrative Form (2003)Group Activity•Choose a character and synthesize all of the details that we know about the character so far. Draw from direct and indirect characterization to paint a picture of the character.•What does the characterization tells us about the character?•What effect has this characterization had so far?•Be ready to share one demonstrative passage and the highlights of your discussion with the class.Close ReadingIn a small group (3-4), choose a short passage from the reading. •First, explain what is happening in the passage (the what).•Second, consider how the passage is written (the how). •Third, attempt to explain why the passage was written this way and what effect it has (the why).For Thursday•Read next five chapters (Ch 10-14; pg 92-156)•Be thinking about the purpose that illnesses/ailments plays in the narrative •Come prepared to participate in class discussion!Emily Brontë & Disease•Torgerson’s Reading the Brontë Body•Connect the Brontës’ lives to the material conditions and historical context of Victorian disease•Combines history of medicine and medical anthropology with literary analysis•Body and illness are socially constructedVictorian Death & Disease•Death and disease visually present in Victorian life•The Babbage Report of 1850•Mortality rate: 10.5% higher than threshold for special attention•Infant mortality: 41%•Average lifespan: 25 yearsThe Brontës & their Illnesses Anne Emily Charlotte A, E, C & Branwell•Cancer•Scarlet Fever•Consumption•Asthma•Alcoholism•Consumption, consumption, consumption…•Tuberculosis & MalnourishmentThe Brontës & their Illnesses Anne Emily Charlotte A, E, C & Branwell•No infant mortality and 4 siblings lived beyond 25•Higher elevation afforded cleaner water and better sanitation•“The surprise is not that the Brontës died so young but that they lived so long” – Anne Dinsdale (qtd. in Torgerson 3)History of MedicineBodyC18Roy Porter: The Greatest Benefit to MankindShift from thought that disease affects the entire body to biomedical concept of disease and bacteriologyOrganMid C18MorgagniTissueMid C18BichatCellLate C19Koch’s Bacteriology & Virchow’s Cell PathologyHistory of Medicine•Medical Books•Thomas John Graham’s Modern Domestic Medicine•New Technologies•Microscope used to study tissues and cells•Stethoscope came to England by 1825•Identifying and Classifying Disease•Technologies offer alternatives •Contagion vs. Anti-Contagion theoriesTorgerson’s Argument“By applying medical anthropology’s idea of the body as site for ideological conflict to the Brontë novels, I explore the various illnesses represented in order to arrive at the cultural critiques implied by these illnesses” (14). Wuthering Heights•Illness is a metaphor for flaws of land-based patriarchy•Not interested in just one illness, but larger metaphors of disease affecting civilization•Vampire (possession) & ghost (dispossession)Disease in Wuthering Heights•What diseases, sicknesses, or other ailments have we seen so far?•What purpose do they serve in the narrative?•Can you identify any metaphorical valances