HUMS 653
Murder And Adultery: The French and Russian Novel
Priscilla Meyer
Come to the first class having already read:
Plato, The Republic, Book 7, The Allegory of the Cave*
Chateaubriand, Atala/Rene
September 11
In Class:
Introduction
The Allegory of the Cave
Atala/Rene: Idealism, Romanticism
For next class:
Read: Alfred de Vigny, "Laurette, or the Red Seal"*
In Lermontov, A Hero of Our Time:
Chapters 1 and 2: "Bela" and "Maksim Maksimych"
Write: Outline points of contact and differences between de Vigny's
and Lermontov's tales, and write a paragraph interpreting your
findings (1-2 pages)
September 18
In Class:
What does Lermontov do with Vigny’s story?
Plagiarism? Discussion of Lermontov's appropriations. Who is his narrator?
For next class:
Read: "L'Orco" and Hero, Chapter 3, "Taman" together
The last two chapters of Hero: "Princess Mary," "The Fatalist"
Hartman, "Romanticism and Anti-Selfconsciousness"*
Write: Outline points of contact and differences between Sand's and
Lermontov's tales, and write a paragraph interpreting your findings that
adresses Lermontov's purposes/achievements in writing Hero
(2 pages)
September 25
In Class:
Lermontov and French Romanticism
From Venice to the Caucasus: angles of deformation
For next class:
Read: Père Goriot (1/2)
motifs: pick one to trace orally in class; bring a handout of its instances
October 2
In Class:
Père Goriot
Realism: La Maison Vauquer
Your motifs
Materialism: medicine and phrenology; the psychology of poverty
For next class:
Read: Père Goriot (finish)
October 9
In Class:
Père Goriot
Supermen and the Mandarin: Napoleon, Vautrin, Rastignac
For next class:
Read: Crime and Punishment, Parts I-III (note throughout: bells, yellow,
water)
October 16
In Class:
Raskolnikov's duality: trace the opposing internal voices
For next class:
Read: Crime and Punishment (finish)
Watch video: The Crystal Palace, Enlightened Self-Interest; Calculation
Go to: http://www.wesleyan.edu/lrc/ ->online materials->Russian->video for 206
->pulldown menu->crystal palace
Write: what parallel characters can you find in Balzac's and
Dostoevsky's novels? (outline). Write a short paragraph about what
your parallels suggest for Dostoevsky’s reading of Balzac.
October 23
In Class:
Why the Crystal Palace?
The Epilogue. Sonya. How does Dostoevsky recast Balzac's material?
For next class:
WRITE: PAPER #1: Pére Goriot as source for Crime and Punishment:
Select ONE aspect/character/motif/scene
Use guidelines for subtext papers, on course web site
Read: Madame Bovary, 1/2 (note blue, green, palm trees, ships)
October 30
In Class:
Emma's reading; the wedding cake
PAPER #1 DUE IN CLASS
For next class:
Read: Madame Bovary, 1/2
Compare the wedding cake to the description of Yonville (Part II, chapter 3)
Prepare to discuss: Why does the novel end with Monsieur Homais?
November 6
In Class:
The scene at the Golden Lion; the scene at the fairground
Homais
For next class:
Read Anna Karenina, Parts I-III
November 13
In Class:
Stiva Oblonsky, Levin and the oysters; the French
For next class:
Read: Anna, Parts IV-VII
Write: one pairing of chapters: how? Why? (1 page)
November 20
In Class:
The labyrinth of linkages: the sequence of chapters
Three marriages; two estates; your findings
Railroads vs. horses; Moscow vs. Petersburg; city vs. country
For next class:
Read: Part VIII
WRITE: PAPER #2: Madame Bovary as source for Anna Karenina:
Select one aspect/character/motif/scene
Use guidelines for motif study and subtext papers
THANKSGIVING BREAK
December 4
In class:
PAPER #2 DUE IN CLASS
What does the epigraph mean? Who is to blame?
Anna and Emma: discuss your findings about the dialogue between
Tolstoy and Flaubert
The Russians and the French
Conclusions
December 11
TERM PAPERS DUE IN MY MAILBOX in the Russian department
* In the course packet, buy in Russian Department office, 212 Fisk Hall
Plato’s Allegory can be found on line at
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.8.vii.html
If using that version, read up to
“Yes, very natural.
And is there anything surprising in one who passes from divine contemplations to the evil state of man, misbehaving himself in a ridiculous manner; if, while his eyes are blinking and before he has become accustomed to the surrounding darkness, he is compelled to fight in courts of law, or in other places, about the images or the shadows of images of justice, and is endeavouring to meet the conceptions of those who have never yet seen absolute justice?”