The novel Jane Eyre is a Victorian Gothic bildungsroman that explores the early life of the eponymous character. At eighteen Jane is hired by Mr. Rochester as a governess at Thornfield Hall. This essay will argue that Jane’s innocent, independent personality liberates Mr. Rochester from his mental enslavement at Thornfield Hall. Jane provides a glimpse... Continue Reading →
The novel Emma by Jane Austen explores the life of the eponymous young woman in the village of Highbury. Emma Woodhouse is 21 years old and respected in her community, but also inexperienced in the world. She is close to Mr. George Knightley, a family friend, whose younger brother is married to Emma’s older sister... Continue Reading →
The Glorious Revolution was one of the most significant events in English history. It was the last successful invasion of England and saw the replacement of the Stuart monarch James II with his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, who became King William III. This paper will argue that Jews played a crucial... Continue Reading →
St. Martin of Tours was one of the central saints of the medieval monastic tradition. He had been a soldier, monk, and then bishop of Tours in his lifetime. This essay argues that because Martin was portrayed as the exemplary miles Christi or warrior for Christ in his monastic biography, he was an ideal for... Continue Reading →
Late antique monks and nuns believed their true utopia would come later in heaven, while on Earth they had to strive for perfection through virtue. One of the things this involved was being free of material possessions that could distract them so they could imitate Christ. Monks were often wealthy people who sold their possessions... Continue Reading →
Queen Elizabeth I was one of England’s greatest monarchs, staying in power for 45 years, one of the longest reigns of any English monarch. But her rise to power was not easy, and she wasn’t even the first in line. Carole Levin’s Heart and Stomach of a King tells us the ways Elizabeth navigated the... Continue Reading →
Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarch were Florentine thinkers active in the 13th and 14th centuries. But their worldviews were very different, and two of their most famous texts reflect this. Dante’s On Monarchy uses Aristotelian scholasticism to argue that the Holy Roman Emperor has the right to rule over Europe. Meanwhile, Petrarch’s On His Own... Continue Reading →
In his texts, Milton teaches that one is free to sin and suffer the resulting loss, but that loss is also part of growth, and one should repent so that new fruits can grow from the repentance. Adam and Eve ask God for forgiveness after their Fall and are given grace through Jesus’ sacrifice. But... Continue Reading →
In John Milton’s Paradise Regained, Milton chooses the rather unexpected moment of Jesus’ retreat into the wilderness for Jesus’ greatest triumph: the regaining of Paradise. He portrays it as the antithesis to Adam and Eve’s temptation in Eden, and it is in this moment that Jesus is tempted with everything by Satan to take the... Continue Reading →
In Book 9 of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve argue on whether to split up their work. Adam fears that Eve will be easily tempted if she leaves him. Eve argues that Adam needs to trust her and that untested faith and love is weak, echoing God’s and Milton’s beliefs on the importance of free... Continue Reading →
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