My initial thoughts going into this final Capstone seminar were conflicted. I was excited to participate in a more interactive and discussion oriented style of learning but was anxious about the content of the course. Victorian era literature is a genre that has come up often during my four and a bit years at Ryerson, to mixed reception. Oftentimes I found the genre to be interesting as the time period offers a unique perspective and voice in literature. Other times however, I find it can be a little indulgent and bland.

One thing I found interesting during my preliminary research on the texts we'll be reading this semester is that Pamela Colman Smith, the author/illustrator of Annancy Stories, illustrated the Rider-Waite tarot cards, of which I had a deck when I was a kid. It made me think about how I never really think of iconic imagery like that as being the product of an individual artist, though I guess obviously it'd necessarily have to be.

As someone who prefers written work over visual work, I'll admit that I am intrigued to see how this class will expand my perspective on the illustrative aspect of Victorian texts. I don't normally focus on visual images in relation to reading or understanding literature, so this class is going to challenge me in a new way. Knowing that the texts we will be studying were geared towards adults is also intriguing to me, as I commonly associate illustrated books with a child audience.

As an English major, I expect myself to know a great deal about the Victorian era. However, the reality is, I do not know anywhere near as much as I'd like to admit I do. Therefore, this course intrigues me as I know I will be working closely with both texts and visuals of the Victorian period during this semester.

After this first class, I am excited to get into these texts and analyze the relationship between the words and illustrations. I don't have a lot of experience with analyzing images, so I am a little bit anxious about doing so, but I think it will be fun! I admit that while I have read A Christmas Carol numerous times, I have never payed much attention to the illustrations while reading, usually just glossing over them quickly and moving on.

The Victorian era is typically viewed as staunch and stuffy by the general public, in an era where propriety and etiquette were of the highest importance. However, the Victorian era was also a time that spoke to intriguing cultural moments such as the ascension of the monarch, for which it is named, at the tender age of eighteen, after she had been sheltered for most of her life. The development and curation of literature in this period is equally interesting, and perhaps, much more relevant to our course.