PinnedDoes Anyone Get Through “War and Peace”?According to the spy comedy Get Smart, no one does — even when armed with a sword. But is Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece really as impenetrable…Dec 11, 20234Dec 11, 20234
“I Am Merely Telling the Truth”: “Jane Eyre” and the Triumph of the Female VoiceWhat is important is that Jane — not Mrs. Reed, not St. John, not even Mr. Rochester — is the one who determines her fate.Jul 22Jul 22
Moral Implications of Madness: Female Sexuality and Violence in Sir Walter Scott’s “The Bride of…The following paragraphs are an extract from my master’s thesis. For those curious and courageous souls who may wish to read the entire…May 14May 14
Basil Bob & MeA reflection on the physical and spiritual connections between the human and the botanicalJan 17Jan 17
My TED Talk: The Humanities Are an Essential Part of Our HumanityThe following essay is one I wrote in 2017; after making a few edits, I share it now.Nov 1, 2023Nov 1, 2023
“Pride and Prejudice”: Jane Austen’s Vision of Reformed Gentility and Loving MatrimonyThe following essay is one I have written for a recent graduate class. Though much longer and more formal than the previous pieces I have…Feb 28, 2023Feb 28, 2023
“Alias Grace”: A Question of Trauma, Agency, and CulpabilityHaving sampled Margaret Atwood’s dark and dystopian taste in The Handmaid’s Tale, I should have been prepared for the violence and…Jun 28, 2021Jun 28, 2021
Published inBooks Are Our Superpower“The Marriage of Opposites”: Alice Hoffman’s Dazzling Novel of Love and Loss, Ambition and ArtWhen I first picked up Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites, I assumed the title referred to the reluctant union of the primary…Apr 12, 2021Apr 12, 2021
Published inCuriousDaenerys Targaryen: A Helen of Troy, Queen Cleopatra… and Bloody Mary?The question is: who will she become?Feb 23, 2021Feb 23, 2021
Published inCuriousThe Tangled Web of Love, Marriage, and Morality in “Anna Karenina”Though the book is named for her, fifty pages pass before Anna Karenina makes her first appearance. Within those opening pages, we are…Sep 28, 2020Sep 28, 2020