What image of American slavery is being presented in this series of excerpts, republished in The Anti-Slavery Reporter (June 1, 1847)? We might assume that readers of this text would be already invested in the cause of abolition, since they are reading the periodical, but what in particular would they notice about this text? What aspects of slavery are highlighted in particular? Does there seem to be a conscious decision to underscore particular aspects of slavery in the United States? Do these idea of slavery (and, by correlation, race) resonate with the novels that we are reading or with Carlyle's essay?
What is the "type" presented in this depiction of Italian women? What assumptions does it make about female character or even about the process of or methodology behind characterizing people? Is it positive or negative, something for English women to emulate or reject? Why, as with the essay on marriage, would this be interesting to readers in 1847? (Can you think of a similar type of publication today, a modern-day equivalent to reading a seemingly straightforward description of women in another country?) This article was published in the London Pioneer: a journal that was originally called The Penny Satirist. Is it, in fact, satirical, and if so, to what purpose? (May 6, 1847).
How does this article, published in The Lady's Newspaper on May 22, 1847, depict the marriage in Algeria? Is it a positive representative, compared to what we imagine the author's perspective on marriage in England to be? Do we imagine the author to be male or female? Why would a woman in England be interested in reading this article? What would intrigue her either about the representation of "otherness" (race) or about the portrayal of marriage rites?
This prayer is not from Punch but from The Children's Missionary Magazine (published in London from March 1838 through December 1894). What type of religion does it depict? What type of child might be expected to say this prayer? In what type of household would he or she reside? Can you imagine children at Lowood School saying this type of prayer? Why or why not? What are the implications about the British empire in this prayer? What would it mean to have small children thinking about Madagascar, Jerusalem, and Ireland? Why these three places in particular (especially Madagascar and Ireland, since Jerusalem has obvious Biblical implications)? Can you compare the type of religious belief expressed here to that held by Bute Crawley, Mr. Pitt Crawley, Miss Temple, Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, or Jane herself? (April 1, 1847)
Does it seem accurate to suggest that these advertisements are looking for "slaves"? How would people in 1847 have interpreted that language? What do you make of the reference to Turkey (one that came up in the first reading from Jane Eyre)? How might we perceive Becky Sharp and Miss Temple (or the other teachers at Lowood School) responding to these advertisements? What about Jane herself, toward the end of the reading? How might we read the language in this sketch from Punch against the language of slavery used in Bronte's novel? Are they the same? Different? (April 17, 1847)
What is the tension between the university and the military expressed here? Why is Prince Albert, as the queen's consort (but, importantly, NOT king), torn between them? What does this tension have to say about social boundaries and the way in which they are drawn? What is Punch's attitude toward these divisions? Can you think of characters in the novels (particularly in Vanity Fair) to whom these divisions might apply? What function do the divisions serve in the novel?
What is the conception of the author employed here? Does it apply to either Thackeray or Charlotte Bronte/Currer Bell? Is it different from our common definitions of authorship today? How? What implications does this definition of the "author" have for our reading?
