Write a well-organized, 2000-word essay that argues a thesis. Use MLA format (see the
Format section of the Syllabus, above). Plan to spend at least a couple of weeks working on
this essay.
See the Reading Schedule below for the two due date options. (There are two options for the
due date: the earlier date is for students who wish to receive written comments; the second due
date is later, but students who opt for this later date will receive grade-only and no written
comments.)
You are not required to use secondary criticism for this essay, but you may make use of a few
carefully selected outside sources if you wish. (If you do use secondary criticism, be sure to use
proper, refereed sources and to cite them fully.)
For this essay, develop a thesis from one of the following general topics:
1. Explore the challenges of the marriage market for women in Pride and Prejudice. What
models of marriage does the novel consider? For example, you may wish to look at the ways the
novel negotiates the apparent opposition between love and money. Or how, for example, do
women discover forms of agency despite what may seem like a fairly fixed social order?
2. Discuss the elegant economy of the women in Our Society at Cranford. For instance, what
class values does such a system perpetuate? Or, how does such an economy enable this
community of women to thrive without the supervision of men?
3. Examine the structure of the gaze in Jenny, OR in both The Lust of the Eyes and In an
Artists Studio. In what ways do men attempt to consume women by looking at them? To what
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extent does the woman (or women) in this poem (or poems) resist mens attempts to master them
through the gaze?
4. Conduct a close analysis of Fields La Gioconda and/or A Girl with reference to Paters
description of the Mona Lisa in The Renaissance. How does Field write back to or revise
Paters assumptions about a universal Woman?
5. Discuss Lucys performance as an Angel in the House in Ladys Audleys Secret. How does
Lucy subvert this image of Victorian domesticity, and what does she achieve by doing so?
6. Explore the representation of the Fallen Woman in Goblin Market. How does Rossetti revise
the typical story of a womans moral lapse and subsequent redemption?
7. Discuss Goblin Market as a kind of womens shopping guide to the Victorian marketplace.
What dangers does it warn of? Equally, what forms of pleasure might women find when they go
shopping in this market?
Choose ONLY ONE!
