"A" is not for Apple

The Scarlet Letter shows the branding of a woman in a morally intolerant society. In class we read the line "The scarlet letter had not done its office" (Ch. XV [my page 223]). This comes after the narrator reveals Hestor's question about the existence of "the whole race of womanhood." What "office" is the scarlet letter supposed to do? [Dictionary.com defines "office" as "a service or task to be performed; assignment."]

What About Eve?

If the purpose of this class is to see the various ways that women are depicted in literature (either a reflection of the attitudes toward women in the wider culture or a comment on that attitude), how would you define Milton's attitude toward women? What does his creation of the character of Eve in Paradise Lost suggest about women--and men's attitude's toward them? Remember that Eve is the only female in the poem.

What Kind of Creature is Sin?

I know that I said that I will only post prompts to discuss further what we have already discussed in class, but since we only have Milton for next week, and I KNOW Eve will be a topic for the following week, I'm looking ahead to the description of Sin in Book II. That being said, I will also not expect you to respond to this blog before class on Tuesday if you tend to save your reading for the night before.

What is familiar about the description of Sin in Paradise Lost? What is significant about her own birth? You might recall that Athena sprang from the forehead of Zeus, and so what is Milton doing with this allusion, warped though it may be? What about Death? Does the depiction of Sin matter in our general agenda of how women are characterized in canonical literature?

Your discussion here is so awesome it is a little daunting for me to come up with a suitable prompt!!

"An excellent thing in woman"

Regan, Goneril and Katherine all certainly do not display what Lear considered "an excellent thing in woman," a voice that "was ever soft,/ Gentle, and low." While we can't actually use Lear as the spokesman for all things proper in women, the idea of silence as a virtue for women is, and has been, a traditional belief. Remember that Creon wants to silence Antigone.

So, what happens when a woman keeps silent (Cordelia)? What happens when they do speak, and what are the consequences? What does speech reveal about their characters? Is Katherine silenced in the end of The Taming of the Shrew? Is silence part of her "taming?" You can think of silence as both literal and figurative--complete or selective.