- Think about how the theme of "persuasion" runs throughout the story; remembering of course, that Austen did not name it herself.
- Also think about Anne's character - how does the modern film adaptation represent her?
- What do the Musgroves represent? How are the two girls a foil to the Elliott daughters? What is Anne's (and presumably Austen's?) opinion of them?
- In our contemporary search for "modernisms" (Frank Kermode's term), are we risking re-enacting the presumptions of older critics? Modernism was largely defined in Euro-centric, elitist terms. If we look to literatures from marginalised communities to add to the Modernist canon - how do we choose? By applying the same definitions? Isn't this still regressive and narrow?
- Has the Modernist movement ended? The term "Post-Modern" is often used to describe art from the 1970s onwards - this is one way of reconciliation - to acknowledge the difference in later art but by retaining Modernism as a frame of reference. One could also differentiate between the two by referring to "High Modernism" (Joyce, Eliot) - but will this mean imposing hierarchy yet again?
- Think about the use of Myth in Modernist works (Ulysses, The Wasteland) - could it be a device of accessibility? To even out the obscurity caused by use of techniques like the "stream-of-consciousness"? A key to the dense allusive nature of the work? Also, How influential is The Golden Bough to the Modernist movement?
- Recommended reading: John Carey's The Intellectuals and the Masses.
If you still end up on the last bench, groggy and wondering who the heck these Moss Grove Epi Cure Dedalus people are - I can only tsk tsk!at you. =D
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