Bressler, Chapters 1-2
Exercise
The approaches to interpretation and the schools of criticism we have
studied may be understood in part by the way in which their adherents see
the function of literature. That is, whether they assume that a literary
work has ontological existence or assume that some extrinsic criteria must
be brought to bear on the text for its meaning to become clearer.
There is of course a great deal of range and overlap in the assumptions
of the various approaches.
Try to arrange the approaches and schools listed below in order from the one that is most objective (assumes the ontological existence of a text) to the least objective (holds the strictest view that literature is functional rather than ontological). Come back to this exercise periodically throughout the semester to retest your grasp and the development of your own thinking. (As the semester progresses, I will revise some of the categories to reflect your deepening knowledge.)
You may envision the scale as something like the following:
Ontological---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Functional
Deconstruction, feminism, Freudian psychoanalytic criticism, gynocriticism,
Jungian psychoanalytic criticism, Lacanian psychoanalytic criticism, Marxism,
New Criticism, New Historicism, phenomenological reader-response criticism,
structuralist reader-response criticism, Structuralism, subjective reader-response
criticism
Terms
hermeneutics |
Bressler, Chapter 3, New Criticism
Exercises
1. Explain how the scene through the open window of Mrs. Mallard's room may be interpreted as an objective correlative in Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." How does it communicate emotions directly to readers?
2. Explain how the metaphor that likens the approaching idea of freedom as a seductive lover functions as a paradox in "The Story of an Hour."
3. Which of the following elements would be least likely to figure
prominently in a New Critical interpretation of "The Story of an Hour"?
Be prepared to explain why. Discuss any elements listed that present
difficulties in deciding their likely prominence.
|
objective correlative paradox Intentional Fallacy Affective Fallacy organic unity of the literary work |
1. What conflicts might "The Story of an Hour" have created in the minds of Chopin's contemporary readers? Does the author appear to be aware that the story might create such conflicts? Are the same conflicts created for readers today? For any group of readers today?
2. Describe the implied reader of "The Story of an Hour" and cite evidence from the story that led to your description.
3. Which of the following elements might figure prominently in
a reader-response interpretation of "The Story of an Hour"
a. based on structuralism?
b. based on phenomenology?
c. based on subjectivity in interpretation?
the denotations and connotations of the meaning of the word freedom Kate Chopin's marriage to Oscar Chopin the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
|
transactional experience
|
Structuralism
1. Interpret Chopin's metaphor of freedom (or the "thing") as
a seducer of Mrs. Mallard in "The Story of an Hour" from a structuralist
point of view; that is, as a sign that refers to a system of signs outside
the text rather than as part of a metaphorical pattern within the story
that shapes its organic unity.
2. What are the various binary operations at work in "The Story of an Hour"?
3. Which of the following elements would be most likely to be
emphasized in a structuralist interpretation of "The Story of an Hour"?
Discuss any that seem to create difficulties in your choosing.
the denotations and connotations of the meaning of the word freedom Kate Chopin's marriage to Oscar Chopin the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
|
signifier signified semiotics mytheme binary opposition langue parole |
2. In what ways might "The Story of an Hour" itself be said to deconstruct some of the basic assumptions of Chopin's dominant culture? What privileged terms are specifically reversed?
3. Which of the following elements would be most likely to be
emphasized in a deconstructive reading of "The Story of an Hour"?
Discuss any that create problems for you in making your selection.
the denotations and connotations of the meaning of the word freedom Kate Chopin's marriage to Oscar Chopin the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
|
transcendental signified
|
1. Discuss the significance of the following passage in a psychoanalytic
interpretation of character in Chopin's "The Story of an Hour":
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze as fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
2. Using Freud's tripartite model of the development of the
psyche, explain how the final sentence of Chopin's story may represent
the dominant morality principle of the superego. Using Lacan's linguistic
model of the psyche, explain how the final sentence may represent the dominance
of the symbolic order.
3. Which of the following elements would most likely to be emphasized
in a psychoanalytic reading of "The Story of an Hour"? Discuss any
that create problems for you in making your selection.
the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
Terms Freudian
id
ego
superego
Oedipus Complex
Electra Complex
Jungian
personal conscious
personal unconscious
collective unconscious
archetype
Lacanian
imaginary order
symbolic order
real order
Bressler, Chapter 7, Feminism 1. Discuss "The Story of an Hour" as a work of the "feminist" era of women's writing as distinguish from the "feminine" and the "female" eras by Elaine Showalter.
2. To what extent can the narrator of "The Story of an Hour" be viewed as an ironic representative of the dominant, male order represented by the "doctors" in the story's final sentence.
3. Which of the following elements would be most likely to be emphasized in a feminist reading of "The Story of an Hour"? Discuss any that create problems for you in making your selection.
the denotations and connotations of the meaning of the word freedom Kate Chopin's marriage to Oscar Chopin the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
Terms gynocriticism
Models:
biological
linguistic
psychoanalytical
cultural
American
British
French
Bressler, Chapter 8, Marxism 1. To what extent does "The Story of an Hour" confine itself to and reveal the values of a privileged class?
2. Discuss Mrs. Mallard's experience as an illustration of Marx's basic assumption that life determines consciousness rather than the other way around.
3. Which of the following elements would be most likely to be emphasized in a Marxist reading of "The Story of an Hour"? Discuss any that create problems for you in making your selection.
the denotations and connotations of the meaning of the word freedom Kate Chopin's marriage to Oscar Chopin the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
Terms dialectical materialism
base
superstructure
bourgeoisie
proletariat
reflection theory
Frankfurt School
hegemony
production theory
interpellation
political unconscious
Bressler, Chapters 9 and 10, New Historicism and Cultural Studies 1. Discuss Josephine's and Richards's expectations of how the news of her husband's death will affect Mrs. Mallard as examples of the social rules to be found in the text of "The Story of an Hour."
2. Discuss Elizabeth Cady Stanton's speech, "The Solitude of Self," as a document that serves as a cultural context for "The Story of an Hour." How might Chopin's story be interpreted as doing the same kind of cultural work as Stanton's speech and similar contemporary documents?
3. Which of the following elements would be most likely to be emphasized in a New Historicist or a cultural studies reading of "The Story of an Hour"? Discuss any that create problems for you in making your selection.
the denotations and connotations of the meaning of the word freedom Kate Chopin's marriage to Oscar Chopin the death of Oscar Chopin the irony captured in t he doctor's interpretation of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death: "the joy that kills" the women's movement of the nineteenth century the opposition between marriage and freedom in the story Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women the image of freedom as a lover the narrator's "objective" tone Chopin's other short stories and her novel The Awakening a reader's views on marriage society's views on marriage the image of Mrs. Mallard as a goddess of Victory the phallic image of Brently Mallard's key in t he door at the end of the story the atmosphere outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window the simile in the following passage: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." the motivations and behavior of Josephine and Richards the fact that the Mallards are a middle class couple Kate Chopin's public statements on the suppression of women in marriage the tendency in the history of Western metaphysics to privilege men over women the relation between the brevity of the story, the use of the term hour in the title, diction and imagery that suggest brevity and rushing, the sudden ending, and the brevity of the time during which Mrs. Mallard enjoys her freedom. the fact that Mrs. Mallard does not go into shock upon hearing the report that her husband is dead the fact that the story was written during what Elaine Showalter calls the feminist period of women's writing the fact that the narrator refers to Brently Mallard by his full name but always to Louise Mallard as Mrs. Mallard the description of Mrs. Mallard as still "young" and "fair" the fact that Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon" Mrs. Mallard the fact that Mrs. Mallard "did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her"
the reader's gender; the implied reader's gender
Terms discourse
episteme
postcolonialism