Nicole Bernard's blog

The Text and the Reader: An Impossible Pursuit

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 11/26/2020 - 23:50

Firstly, I must say that I am shocked to find that it is the end of the semester already. How time flies! Looking back on all of the texts we have studied, I can say that my appreciation for Victorian literature, as well as my capacity for analysis, has greatly grown. It seems the course is reaching a satisfying denouement as we now turn to A Christmas Carol once again.

The Annancy Stories as a Challenge to Colonialism

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 20:48

I was rather struck by the illustrations for The Annancy Stories in that Smith's style of artwork feels much more fluid than anything we have come across thus far. It gives the impression of inky brushstrokes rather than of rigidly controlled lines.

Salomé as a Counter to the Hypocrisy of Attitudes Towards Alterity

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 10/29/2020 - 23:53

Salome was a really engaging book to read and analyze. I thoroughly enjoyed this week and presenting. Wilde's text for Salome made me reminisce about childhood as "The Nightingale and the Rose" was one of my favourite fairy tales and I was also exposed to various biblical tales (including the one that inspired Salome).

Emotion in the Detective & Notions of Character Fluidity

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 10/22/2020 - 12:43

Today's class offered some interesting insights on Sherlock Holmes and its cultural context. Sidney Paget's illustrations reveal an aspect of the stories that is concealed or even otherwise absent in the text. What interested me specifically was the empathy and humanity displayed in the illustrations of Holmes for "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."

Materiality and Ghost Writing

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 10/08/2020 - 15:04

Diachronic analysis enables the critic to focus on the physical material of the text instead of solely its body. In looking at the various editions of Goblin Market through the years, I found myself longing to hold the physical texts. There's an extra element of understanding in the materiality of an edition. I wanted to feel the binding, look at the paper quality and the ink used. Seeing the wear and aging on an individual book can often reveal the purpose and audience of the text.

The Pedestal as a Cage

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 10/01/2020 - 12:29

Annotating "The Lady of Shalott" was an engaging process. Tennyson layers references and commentary on the social position of women and their lack of social mobility. The first impression of the poem is the base description of the Lady falling to her doom through her attraction to Lancelot. However, there are more intricate details within the poem that come to light through a focused critical analysis. The text is rife with allusions but what I enjoyed most was the symbols of the constrained life of the Lady of Shalott.

The Quest to Balance Profit and Humanity

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 09/24/2020 - 13:21

The dead as a doornail passage called to mind the satirical works of Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" and Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Swift's essay (published in 1729) addresses the topic of famine and the lower class being codified as a burden on society. The greed and self-righteousness of the upper class which Swift counters in his essay are still prevalent at the writing of A Christmas Carol. The question arises of whether this exploitation can be changed on a grand scale.

Illustration and Context as Essential to Interpretation

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 12:52

It is refreshing to analyze illustrations in lieu of exclusively the written component of a text. I find that often the choices of publishers are overlooked in literary analysis and appreciation. The text is a composite whole of written word, illustration, embellishment, and material. Although through a modern lens, such choices seem of little consequence, they are all interrelated. In illustrated books, the illustration and the written text are involved in an interplay of creation, embellishment, and illumination.

Reflections on Literature in Anticipation of Course Readings

Submitted by Nicole Bernard on Thu, 09/10/2020 - 10:52

Firstly, I want to say that I am excited to begin the course and look forward to reading the course texts. I have been interested in art and literature for as long as I can recall. When I was five, my brother gave me an anthology of folk and fairy tales with a section of various illustrations and I credit this book with spurring my interest in literature.

COVE

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