The Novels of Virginia Woolf and

Katherine Mansfield

Dr. Lisa Williams

ALIT 414-03

Fall 2003

Office: B-139, 201-684-7278

Email: liwillia@ramapo.edu

Office Hours: M 3:15-4:00, Th: 9:45-11:30, 3:15-4:00, and by appointment

Required Texts

Stories by Katherine Mansfield

In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield

The Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf

The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

The Waves by Virginia Woolf

Books on Reserve

Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf: A Public of Two by Angela Smith

Radical Mansfield by Dunbar

Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee

The Artist as Outsider in the Novels of Toni Morrison and Virginia Woolf  by Lisa Williams

Virginia Woolf, Lesbian Readings, Ed. By Eileen Barrett and Patricia Cramer

Katherine Mansfield, A Darker View by Jeffrey Myers

The Notebooks of Katherine Mansfield

In addition to these books, the library has an excellent collection of Virginia Woolf books.

What This Course is About

In this course, we will study the writings of two of the most important modernist writers of the twentieth century. Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield were both friends and fierce rivals. Their competition spurred them on to reach greater artistic achievements. We will look closely at both the form and content of Woolf’s and Mansfield’s writings, as we examine how these women writers echo the concerns of early twentieth century experience. Through a study of Woolf and Mansfield, we will want to look at broader issues of modernism, feminism, female artistic identity, and literary technique.

Course Requirements

For this course, you will complete a final research paper of 12-15 pages that demonstrates your ability to closely read a text and successfully incorporate literary criticism into your own original analysis. From the very beginning of this course, you will immediately want to start thinking about your topic. You will also write a shorter 5-6 page paper and complete an oral report. In addition, a weekly journal of a minimum of 15 pages by the end of the semester is required.

The journal is a place where you can practice closely reading a text. I suggest that you take a paragraph from an assigned text and examine how the writer is using language. What images does the writer create and what is evoked from these images? What is the overall effect of the paragraph? You can also explore questions, confusions, and hopefully your own excitement about these texts. Please avoid plot summaries. A journal entry for an assigned text must be brought to class the day we are to discuss it. I will collect the journal on a weekly basis.

Schedule

September 8

Introduction to Course

September 15

"The Legacy" by Virginia Woolf

"Marriage a la Mode" by Katherine Mansfield

"Lappin and Lapinova" by Woolf

"Je ne Parle Francais" by Mansfield

"The Mark on the Wall," "Monday or Tuesday" by Woolf

"Revelation" by Mansfield

Read Katherine chapter of Hermione Lee’s Virginia Woolf

September 22

"Moments of Being" Slater’s Pins Have No Points" by Woolf

"Carnation" by Mansfield (hand-out)

Begin Reading The Voyage Out by Woolf

September 29

The Voyage Out

"The Voyage" by Katherine Mansfield

October 6

The Voyage Out by Woolf

"The Daughters of the Late Colonel" by Mansfield

October 13

"The Fly" by Katherine Mansfield

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

October 20

Mrs. Dalloway

October 27

Mrs. Dalloway

"At the Bay" by Katherine Mansfield

November 3

"Prelude" by Katherine Mansfield
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

November 10

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

November 17

To the Lighthouse

"Miss Brill" by Mansfield

November 24

The Waves by Virginia Woolf

December 1

The Waves

December 8

The Waves

Class Presentations of Final Research Papers

Grades

Research Paper 40%

Oral Report and Class Participation 20%

Journal 20%

First Paper 20%

If you have any special needs, please see me immediately.

Academic Honesty: Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated. If you have any doubts about correct MLA citation, see me immediately. Any paper suspected of plagiarism will be forwarded to the Office of Academic Affairs.