27th April 2025

The Metaphor of Roman Fever in “Daisy Miller”

Malaria, or Roman Fever, literally translates to “bad air.” It is caused by the bite of a mosquito that has been infected with a malarial parasite. As the exact vector of the disease was not known in Henry James’ time, it was believed that it was transmitted by a miasma that spread through the air in dank dark places. This fits with the depiction of the Colosseum in “Daisy Miller.”

26th April 2025

Postpartum Psychosis in “The Yellow Wallpaper”

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Told in the first person as a series of journal entries, it tells of a woman who has recently given birth and her husband, a physician, after they lease a country estate for three months to provide the woman with doctor-ordered rest.

26th April 2025

The Irony of Religious Conversion in Enslaved People

Christianity has often used its beliefs and practices to underpin slavery. The very foundational text of Christianity, the Bible, nowhere condemns slavery and often supports it, offering specific instructions on how to obtain slaves, how to treat them, and how to beat them. In using the Bible to indoctrinate slaves, Christians are offering them spiritual guidance on being a “good slave” and encouraging them to passivity.

26th April 2025

Tradional Morality and Hurstwood as Fallen Woman

In his 1900 novel Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser tells the story of a young woman leaving her small town and coming to Chicago. At first blush, the poor girl from the country seems ripe for the role of the Fallen Woman. But this does not happen.

26th April 2025

The Unreliable Narrator in Postmodern Fiction

A look at The New York Trilogy, The Crying of Lot 49, and The Handmaid’s Tale

26th April 2025

Imperator Furiosa

Imperator Furiosa is a strong Female Action Hero whose task, her mission, is to save the Wives of Imperator Joe from a life of sexual and reproductive servitude, and to that end, she must battle against the bloodthirsty minions of Joe in order to lead the Wives to freedom, to liberate women and defeat patriarchal structures.

26th April 2025

The Duality of Disability: Environment, Perception, and Identity

Disability, in its broadest sense, operates within a dual framework: it can be perceived as either an asset or a disadvantage, depending on the environment and societal context.

19th May 2022

The Destruction of Blanche

In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire, masculinity and femininity are portrayed as binary, as opposites, and every character in the play conforms to one of these roles, except one.