Freud's "Dora" - Day One

Please answer two of the questions below or come up with your own topics for discussion:

1. In what ways do you think Freud's case study can qualify as literature (or do you think it can)? Do you see a "meeting place" between literature and psychoanalysis in this text? (In other words, what might literature and psychoanalysis have in common that this text reveals?)

2. In what areas do you think Freud attempts to put forth some of his theories concerning women, gender, etc.? What are these theories as the text presents them?

3. Do you see any "blind spots" in the text? (Things that may seem obvious that Freud might miss?) Where do you think Freud fails in his analysis of Dora? (It has been regarded by critics as basically an impossibility from the outset that Dora will be 'cured' by Freud - why do you think this is the case?)

Reading Schedule for Freud's "Dora"

I've posted Freud's "Dora" on Blackboard for you to read.

Please read for the following days:

Day One (3/1/11) - Parts 1 - 2, pp. 1 - 55

Day Two (3/3/11) - Parts 3 - 5, pp. 56 - 112

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Day Three

What relevant themes do you see in Sor Juana's poetry? How does her poetry relate to issues she raised in her letter? What is it that poetry affords her that prose does not?

Speak about at least two of the assigned poems and please include quotations from them in your response.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Day Two

Choose two passages from the text that interest you and comment upon them (try to do a "close reading" of them, meaning: What language, images, rhetorical devices does Sor Juana use and why?)

Please include the pages numbers of your citations.

The Constitution Today: Women

The Constitution Today: Women

Interesting conversation on NPR today.

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-02-17/constitution-today-women

When the 19th amendment was ratified in 1920, it was the first time women's legal rights were specifically addressed in the U.S. Constitution. Women played no role in the document's ratification in 1787. And when former slaves got the right to vote in 1870, it was a severe blow to the women's movement. In later years, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution in ways that include and protect women. But the battle for an Equal Rights Amendment continues. As part of our ongoing "Constitution Today" series, we delve into how the document addresses women and the role they've played in its history.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Day One

Please answer both questions:

1. The beginning of Sor Juana's letter is quite important (pp. 39 - 49) - like we saw with the introduction to Christine de Pizan's "City of Ladies," Sor Juana wants to orient the reader to her main objectives while at the same time must walk a fine line between humility and superiority. What do you think she wants the reader to take away from this letter? What rhetorical devices does she use in order to achieve her goals?

2. As you read, what are two quotations that particularly jump out at you? Why? Do an analysis of these quotations - why does Sor Juana say these things? Please include both quotations with a page number in your blog posting.

Reading for Sor Juana's "The Answer / La Respuesta"

We will spend three days on Sor Juana beginning this Thursday. The first two days we will discuss "The Answer" and the third day will be spent on her poetry.

Day One: pp. 39 - 70

Day Two: pp. 71 - 105

Day Three: Sonnets (pp. 158 - 163), Philosophical Satire (pp. 164 - 167)

Please see below the questions for "Women on the Verge..."

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Please discuss (part or all of) three of the following topics:

1. The role of women in the film. The types of women Almodovar introduces to us. The role of Pepa, Candela (the friend involved with Shiite terrorists), Paulina Morales (the feminist lawyer), Lucia (Ivan's wife and Carlos' mother), Marisa (Carlos' girlfriend).

2. The role of men in the film - mainly Ivan, but also to a lesser extent Carlos.

3. Why the title of the film? How are these women "on the verge of a nervous breakdown / al borde de un ataque de nervios"? Why? How might we relate the problem/s of these women to those women central in Maria de Zayas' novellas (or can we)?

4. The role of the telephone in the film.

5. A specific scene in the film you think speaks to some of the main themes of the film.

6. Why the comedic tone for a film dealing with serious issues (separation, anguish, psychological and emotional trauma)?

María de Zayas / The Disenchantments of Love - Day 3

Please answer three questions or come up with your own topics of discussion. Remember - do NOT make a new blog for this entry. Everyone should have just ONE blog which will contain ALL the responses for the entire semester.

1. In story 7 (“Marriage Abroad: Portent of Doom”), Blanca seems to have found a fool-proof method for assuring that the Prince is genuine in his love: her insistence in a one-year courtship period in which, it appears, she is in control. Despite this, she remains unhappy. Why do you think this is the case? Is there an aspect to the type of “love” between her and the Prince that is causing this unhappiness? (I think this has something to do with the poem on page 250 and is not yet to be found in the Prince’s homosexuality, for at this point in the story this is not yet an issue.)

2. I do not think it is accidental that story 7 immediately follows the story of Esteban / Estefanía. In story 6, Zayas introduces the theme of lesbian desire, and here we have two men found in bed together. Zayas once again introduces the theme of characters’ crossing of societal borders (as with Isabel / Zelima in story 1). What do you think the message is here about men crossing boundaries of gender and sexuality? (Hint: I think the fact that the Prince does not have a name speaks volumes.) Or possibly a different yet related question: How do you think these and other “boundary-crossings” in the text are subversive yet simultaneously maintain a societal status quo?

3. Story 8 (“Traitor to His Own Blood”) begins with Francisca’s comments about gossip and its evils. Think about gossip. What does it do? We have in a sense an “original speech act” that transforms as the gossip spreads. What might this have to say about speech in general? Do we have any control over the meaning of our words? How does this power of speech come into the story?

4. Story 9 also contains the underlying theme of blood and all its implications. “Blood” is in the title, we have bleeding corpses, etc. What do you think blood implies here (religious, social, biological overtones)? Why do you think the corpses bleed? What might this imply?

5. Story 10, “The Ravages of Vice” (really the last of 20 stories), has Florentina as the main female protagonist. Why do you think Zayas concludes her book/s that are supposedly in defense of women with a story about such a treacherous woman? On the same note, Gaspar is unique in the male characters of the book – he behaves impeccably (he does not deceive nor kill a single person). Do you think Florentina and Gaspar’s character traits can help in a reading of the overall text?

6. It seems that story 10 is the most violent of the book – we have the highest number of corpses by its end (more than any other story) and the violence in it is senseless. Why do you think there is such a high level of violence in the text, specifically against women? I think this is more than just “women beware” message. What we have here is in truth a moral imperative. What is it? What is it that tortured, raped and murdered bodies of women have to tell us?

María de Zayas / The Disenchantments of Love - Day 2

Please address three of the topics below or come up with your own (at least three) topics for a discussion.

1. Before the story of tale four begins, its narrator (Filis) has some opening remarks about men and women (pp. 139-40). How do you interpret these remarks? How do they serve as an introduction for what comes later in the story?

2. In both the 4^th and 5^th stories we have the theme of the “image of a woman.” We have spoken about this before, but what does this theme bring to these two stories? (An understanding of the myth of Pygmalion helps here.)

3. What do you think is the significance of the skull in story four? Think about what a skull might mean in a variety of contexts (especially the skill as the remains of a head – what are the functions of a head?).

4. Think about the role of doña Inés in story 5. What agency does she have in the story (or does she have any at all)? She is replaced by a dress, a statue, and then trapped in a wall (where she goes blind). How do you interpret this?

5. In story 6, we have the androgynous Esteban / Estefanía. Gender here is much more complicated than biological predeterminacy – everyone takes the biologically male Esteban for the female Estefanía since s/he conforms to what society considers “female.” How can this character aid in a rereading of gender and traditional gender roles? (Think, we still have gender-bending as an element in films today – men masquerading as women or vice versa. Why this fascination with such a topic?)

6. In story 6, Esteban / Estefanía sings a poem (pp. 219-23) invoking tales of desire from classical mythology. What kind of desire is portrayed in these tales (those used in the poem) and how can they relate to the type of desire typified by Esteban / Estefanía? What is the irony here once s/he reveals him/herself?