TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY
COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 592
STUDIES IN INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS (SUMMER 2013)
EMINENT VICTORIAN NOVELISTS: CHARLES DICKENS AND ELIZABETH GASKELL
Instructor: Dr. Peter Stiles
Office: SNC 115
Office Hours: TBA
Email: p.stiles@bigpond.net.au
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will examine selected texts by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) and Elizabeth Gaskell
(1810– 1865) two prominent novelists of the Victorian period. Despite the distinct differences
between their social backgrounds, domestic situations, daily preoccupations and ultimately their
individual worldviews, they shared a common interest in the welfare of the poor and the
marginalised in mid Victorian England. The novels of both authors graphically reveal the
privations confronted by so many in the crowded squalor of London and the highly industrialized
cities of northern England. Set against these appalling circumstances, however, there are, in the
work of both novelists, glimpses of hope and the consoling capacity for expressions of love and
goodness in human conduct. The ruthless machinations of those with social privilege and power
are played out in contrast to these more positive elements of human nature. A key element in
their work is also the strong contrast between rural idyll and industrial wasteland in English life
at that time. Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell effectively capture the key dilemmas of
Victorian life and their novels are representative of the burgeoning of the novel form in the
period from the 1840s to 1860s. Other novelists, such as Wilkie Collins (1824- 1889), George
Eliot (1819-1880) Charlotte Yonge (1823-1901) Emily Bronte (1818-1848) and Charlotte Bronte
(1816-1855) will also be referred to in this course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To examine the manner in which Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell depict the social
conditions of England in the mid-Victorian period.
2. To contrast approaches to characterization in the two novelists, and examine the basis for these
differences.
3 To show how both novelists effectively utilize the difference between rural and urban settings.
4. To differentiate between the two novelists in terms of their literary concerns and their stylistic
features.
5. To explore and compare the spiritual or ethical vision expressed in novels by Dickens and
Gaskell, reflecting on the ways that the Christian faith informed their literary efforts.
6. To examine the problematic personal relationship between these two novelists.
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7. To understand the burgeoning of the novel form during the period when Dickens and Gaskell
were writing their major works.
8. To appreciate the enduring popularity and significance of the Victorian novel.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Dickens, Charles. Little Dorrit. Ed. Harvey Peter Sucksmith and Dennis Walder. New Ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. Oxford World’s Classics.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Margaret Cardwell and Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.
New Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Oxford World’s Classics.
Dickens, Charles. Elizabeth Gaskell, et al., A House to Let. Rockville: Arc Manor, 2008. Web.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=nVEvD7mYxu8C
Gaskell, Elizabeth. Ruth. Ed. Tim Dolin. New Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Print. Oxford World’s Classics.
Gaskell, Elizabeth. Cousin Phillis and Other Stories. Ed. Heather Glen. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2010. Print. Oxford World’s Classics.
Gaskell, Elizabeth. Wives and Daughters. Ed. Angus Easson. Reissue. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2008. Print. Oxford World’s Classics.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Ackroyd, Peter. Dickens. London: Minerva, 1990. Print.
Bonaparte, Felicia. The Gypsy-Bachelor of Manchester (The Life of Mrs. Gaskell’s Demon).
Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1992. Print.
Booth, Alison. “Little Dorrit and Dorothea Brooke: Interpreting the Heroines of History.”
Nineteenth Century Literature 41.2 (1986): 190-216.
Cunningham, Valentine. “Dickens and Christianity.” A Companion to Charles Dickens. Ed.
David Paroissie. Oxford:Blackwell, 2008. Print. 255-276.
Flint, Kate (ed.). The Victorian Novelist: Social Problems and Social Change, London: Croom
Helm, 1987. Print.
Gerin, Winifred. Elizabeth Gaskell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976. Print.
Jay, Elisabeth. Faith and Doubt in Victorian Britain. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1966. Print.
Ledger, Sally. Dickens and the Popular Radical Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2007. Print.
Prickett, Stephen. England and the French Revolution. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1989. Print.
Sanders, Andrew. Dickens and the Spirit of the Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Print.
Schor, Hilary M. Scheherezade in the Marketplace. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Print.
Schor, Hilary M. Dickens and the Daughter of the House. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1999. Print.
Schramm, Jan-Melissa, Atonement and Self-Sacrifice in Nineteenth Century Narrative.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print.
Smiley, Jane. Charles Dickens. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2002. Print.
Spencer, Jane. Elizabeth Gaskell. London: Macmillan, 1993. Print.
Stoneman, Patsy. Elizabeth Gaskell. Brighton: Harvester. 1987. Print.
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Tomalin, Claire. Charles Dickens: A Life. London: Penguin, 2011. Print.
Uglow, Jenny. Elizabeth Gaskell (A Habit of Stories). London: Faber and Faber, 1993. Print.
Wheeler, Michael. Death and the Future Life in Victorian Literature and Theology. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1991. Print.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1.
2.
3.
Students are required to read all assigned material before class and to attend and participate
in all classes.
Students must present a lecture and lead a class discussion on one of the designated novels.
They must also submit their notes to the instructor immediately after the lecture.
Students are required to submit two research essays, the first 2500-words in length and the
second 4000-words in length, which jointly analyse at least four of the major works studied
in the course. At least 10 secondary sources must be cited in the first essay and 20 secondary
sources in the second essay. The essays must employ the parenthetical MLA format.
COURSE EVALUATION:
2500-Word Research Essay
4000-Word Research Essay
Class Lecture
35%
50%
15%
COURSE OUTLINE:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Introductions, Overview of Course, Assessment Requirements.
An introduction to the Mid-Victorian Period: social and political developments, such as the
Crimean War and the Chartist movement; the ‘hungry forties’; health and sanitation; the
‘Condition of England’ question; the pressures of industrialization; the crisis of faith, including
Darwin’s influence; the influence of Unitarianism and German Higher Criticism; the burgeoning
of the novel. A short biographical overview of the lives of Charles Dickens and Elizabeth
Gaskell; the relationship between the two authors and their social milieu. Student lecture.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Commence Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell; background to the industrial north (particularly
Manchester) and to the ‘fallen woman’ theme. Continued study of Ruth, including the historical
background to the novel; the influence of Unitarianism and the Bible in shaping the novel; a
close study of the themes of redemption and reconciliation in Ruth. Student lecture.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Close study of Cousin Phillis. The contrast of rural idyll and industrial wasteland in Gaskell’s
work (compare Ruth and Cousin Phillis); the treatment of female protagonists; mendacity in the
work of Elizabeth Gaskell; the presence of clerical figures in her work. A study of Wives and
Daughters. A treatment of themes such as the influence of science, patriarchy; marriage; social
conditions in England. A comparison with other prominent novelists such as George Eliot.
Student lecture.
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Friday, May 24, 2013
An overview of the works of Charles Dickens; the serialization of the Victorian novel. A study of
Little Dorrit. A study of themes such as living conditions in Victorian London; poverty; young
female figures in Dickens’s fiction. Student lecture.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
A study of Great Expectations. The recurring theme of childhood poverty and insecurity, etc. A
study of A House to Let. Joint ventures between Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell and other
Victorian authors. Student lecture. Concluding comments; assessment requirements, etc.
SYSTEM OF GRADING:
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
90-100%
85-89%
80-84%
77-79%
73-76%
70-72%
C+
C
CD+
D
DF
67-69%
63-66%
60-62%
57-59%
53-56%
50-52%
Below 50%
COURSE EXPECTATIONS/EXPLANATIONS:
1. Students must complete all of the assignments in order to pass the course.
2. Because the course is compressed into five lengthy classes, no student can miss more than one
class. Serious illness, documented by a medical certificate, provides the only exception.
3. All essays must be typed, double spaced, and formatted in the parenthetical MLA style. They
are due at the beginning of the class on the assigned date, and they must be submitted to me in
person. In other words, they cannot be emailed to me or submitted anywhere else in the
University without my prior permission. I will accept late papers, but at a fixed penalty of 5%
per day (including weekends and holidays). Serious illness, documented by a medical
certificate, provides the only exception.
4. Academic integrity is a core value of the TWU community. Students are required to abide by
the principles of sound academic scholarship. This includes, but is not limited to, avoiding all
forms of plagiarism and cheating in scholarly work. TWU has a strict policy on plagiarism
which is set forth in the Academic Calendar. Learning what constitutes plagiarism and how to
avoid it is the student’s responsibility. An excellent resource on preventing plagiarism has
been prepared by William Badke, a librarian at TWU. This resource is freely available for
download as a PPT file: http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/plagiarism.ppt. It can also freely be used
as flash (self running) tutorials at http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plagiarism.swf (14 minute flash
tutorial) or http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plagiarism_Short.swf (8 minute flash tutorial).
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5. In the event of extreme weather conditions or other emergency situations, please consider the
website (http://www.twu.ca/conditions/) the primary source of information, along with the
TWU bulletin line (604-513-2147). The University will communicate information regarding
the cancellation of classes to the following radio stations: CKNW (980 AM), CKWX (1130
AM), STAR FM (107.1 FM), PRAISE (106.5 FM) and KARI (550 AM). Should there be
conflicting reports regarding class cancellations, the TWU website and bulletin line are to be
considered correct. The first announcement regarding status of campus is made at 6:00AM
and covers the period up to 1:00PM. The second announcement is made at 10:00AM that will
cover afternoon classes. Students and faculty should assume that all night classes will
continue to operate. A third announcement covering evening classes is made at 3:00PM.