Comparative Literature 288 - BITTER HOMES AND GARDENS

Same as LSS 288. The work of certain writers -- often women and often Wharton, von Arnim and Colette -- is categorized as small in scope, narrowly focused and therefore marginal in some ways. Here are questions, based in part on readings in landscape and domestic design theory, that we can ask to help us see their work differently: When and how is it appropriate to juxtapose writers' biographies on their fiction? How do they represent domestic discord -- loss, rage, depression -- in their fiction? In particular, how do local landscapes and other domestic spaces -- houses, rooms, gardens -- figure in this representation? Texts include novels, short stories, correspondence, excerpts from journals, and other autobiographical writing: Prerequisite: one other literature course at any level, or permission of the instructor.