At the end we are steeped through and through with the genius, the vehemence, the indignation of Charlotte Brontë.

—Virginia Woolf on Jane Eyre

When Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre in 1847 under the pseudonym Currer Bell, it caused a sensation in Victorian literary circles. The bold, passionate voice of its female narrator and incisive commentary on the most pressing social issues of its day made the novel an immediate commercial success and generated a variety of critical responses, from glowing praise to moral outrage. Since then, Jane Eyre has served as a key inspiration for many literary works, including Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic bestseller Rebecca, Jean Rhys’s postcolonial classic Wide Sargasso Sea, and Jeanette Winterson’s coming-of-age novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. 

This course will involve a close reading of Brontë’s novel alongside later works of fiction in dialogue with Jane Eyre. By examining these texts together, we will explore questions such as: how do reading these novels together enrich and complicate our understanding of Brontë’s novel? What is the relationship of these texts to the Gothic tradition and the genres of autobiography and the Bildungsroman? What kinds of questions about gender, sexuality, and social class do these novels raise, and what new themes emerge in later reworkings of Jane Eyre? And finally, what does attention to a work’s intertextuality bring to the reading experience?

Books to purchase for this course (Available at Argo Bookshop):

• Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, (Penguin Classics edition) ISBN: 9780141441146
• Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca, ISBN: 9781844080380
• Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, ISBN: 9780241951552
• Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, ISBN: 9781784877484

Please note that this course has a maximum enrollment of 16 students and that TMI does not allow participants to audit courses for free.

Location: Atwater

First Session: Monday, September 16th, 2024

Course Length: 12 weeks, Mondays, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.

Discussion Team: Charlotte Boatner-Doane, Valerie Amyot, Shernaz Choksi

Degree Credit: 3 credits

Course Fee: 

$100.00 (New Students)

$160.00 (Standard Tuition)

Administrative Fee:

$40.00

Total:

$140.00 (New Students)

$200.00 (Standard Tuition)

For 12-week courses, fees are refundable in full before the second session. If the participant withdraws after the second course, they will be charged a $50 fee. There is no refund after the third course has passed. Please note that non-attendance does not constitute a withdrawal.

Students pursuing studies for credit are encouraged to consult with their advisers as they register for courses.

Course leaders, and students wishing to use credit vouchers, should call (514) 935-9585 to pay by phone or to schedule an appointment to pay in person.