Emmanuelle Claus-Jackson

Hello! Welcome to my blog for Later 18th Century Literature.

[emsaioclja]

March 31st, 2026: Evelina

After doing some research on 18th century British society, I understood this story a little more. There are strict etiquette conventions in this time and location, and this affects Madame Duval when Lady Howard comments on her rudeness. This symbolizes that Madame Duval was from a lower class, as she may not understand “proper” greetings. 

Evelina is affected by societal standards of this time as well. She cannot say no to who she gets married off to. She cannot earn her own money and must find a husband then. Since Madame Duval’s plan was to uproot Evelina, it shows that she truly has no say in her future. There are major themes of innocence, guidance, and experience throughout the first few letters. 

[emsaioclja]

March 25, 2026

“On the Supposition of an Advertisement Appearing in a Morning Paper, of the Publication of a Volume of Poems, by a Serving Maid” 

I found this poem fascinating and amusing to read and dig into. Looking at the limitations of the upper class and their ability to understand those in a lower class really lit a spark in me. I think it is important to note that she was very open about criticizing the upper class even when it might’ve been dangerous to do so, as there could have been many consequences. Another thing I found interesting was the rhyme scheme in this poem. It is simple but very effective in what it wants the reader to see and think. 

[emsaioclja]

March 16th, 2026: The Castle of Otranto

Conrad getting crushed by the mysterious helmet from the sky is how my semester is going. (joke) Anyways, Manfred is annoying to put it lightly. He is awful to put it fully. Deciding to divorce or even kill his wife Hippolita to marry Isabella against her will is so awful. Theodore helping her escape was probably the best thing someone could’ve done for her. 

“Manfred, though persuaded, like his wife, that the vision had been no work of fancy, recovered a little from the tempest of mind into which so many strange events had thrown him. Ashamed, too, of his inhuman treatment of a Princess who returned every injury with new marks of tenderness and duty, he felt returning love forcing itself into his eyes; but not less ashamed of feeling remorse towards one against whom he was inwardly meditating a yet more bitter outrage, he curbed the yearnings of his heart, and did not dare to lean even towards pity. The next transition of his soul was to exquisite villainy.” 

I love this passage as it shows his growth as a villain. Walpole’s use of language to describe this evil feeling that Manfred has is really interesting. This passage feels very poetic in a way, and I wonder if Walpole may have also been a poet as I have not looked further into him yet. 

[emsaioclja]

March 3rd: Polly Honeycombe

I thought the performance of Polly Honeycombe was really interesting, I had a copy of the play that I couldn't read well so my only resource was the performance.

I thought it was really interesting that theatre in the 18th century, the audience was more rowdy and participatory. I didn't expect that. It reminds me of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the way that the audience participates.

Polly reminded me of Arabella in a way, she was so determined to find who she really wanted to marry, and she went out of her way to do so. I thought that her character was really fascinating. In the performance, I thought each character was portrayed well.

I struggled to find something I really connected with in this though, so apologies for the entry being shorter.

[emsaioclja]

February 10th, 2026: My Cat Jeoffrey

Something I find interesting is the listing of different things in the poem, like colours or the word Bull. I connect it to the type of repetition one might see in someone with Tourette's or OCD. This is really interesting to me because I can personally connect with this type of repetition and obsession. The colours drew me in. I am curious about the order of the colours and what this might mean in the poem itself. The repetition with numbers as well was super interesting. I think that it is almost a self-soothing method to calm himself down, especially after being isolated like he was. Self-soothing is often done by neurodivergent people as well, and I think maybe he could’ve been autistic too. This is all personal relation, though, so maybe I’m wrong. I do wonder about how isolation felt in a time when there wasn’t all this technology and distraction around. I notice an almost human connection to the cat. Smart describes his cat in such human terms and with such softness. The connection one has to their cat is special, and I love the way this was shown in the poem. It is an often overwhelming love. In today's terms, Christopher Smart had cuteness aggression when it came to his cat. 

[emsaioclja]

February 3rd, 2026: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

When reading Gray’s work, I resonated with his writing and its themes of life and death. Death as a universal experience for everyone is such a large and overbearing topic to cover but Gray does it in such an eloquent way. I particularly like that at the heart of the poem, there is the simple fact that death arrives at everyone’s doorstep, whether or not they are rich or poor. There is a strange equality in certain aspects of death. It can of course be argued that there is no equality in who is taken and when especially if it is at a young age, but overall it happens to us all. Imagining all the lives that are left behind came up a lot while I was reading the poem too. How we die, when we die and what that does to someone’s soul is really a captivating idea. 

Lines 45-48 piqued my interest immediately while reading, and returning to them I hold the same thought. “Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid 

Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;

Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed, 

Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.”

The pictures that Gray paints of different souls that may have existed is impactful. I feel like it might be something many can relate to when visiting a graveyard, wondering what the people were like under the tombstone. Specifically I love the line “Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire”. It is so visual and raw in its imagery and feeling, and it does a wonderful job of expressing the message behind this poem.

[emsaioclja]

January 24th, 2026: The Female Quixote

This is something I brought up with classmates previously, but I do wonder about the aspect of queerness in this story. Maybe I am projecting, but I find Arabella’s disinterest in the early chapters quite interesting, and they may not be fully connected to just being interested in novels, although that is clearly a large part of it. Arabella reads to me as a queer woman based on the way she describes her female counterparts and acts around men generally. She very consistently resists the idea of marriage and romantic endeavours, even after being presented with so-called “perfect” matches. Her resistance is also not under the guise of being “prude” but active refusal instead, which I believe queers the story quite a bit. There is also an aspect of homosocial intimacy over heterosexual desire. Arabella often is more emotionally intense and closer to women in the early chapters. While this relationship between women in the story is not explicitly romantic or sexual, the female bond can reflect queer desire, especially if the culture demanded that women orient themselves towards men. Arabella also defies gender roles by positioning herself as a figure who judges and controls romantic narratives. Together, these elements frame Arabella as a character whose desires, attachments, and sense of identity exist outside a femininity that is expected of her.

[emsaioclja]

January 18th, 2026: The Female Quixote

“Her Mind being wholly filled with the most extravagant Expectations, she was alarmed by every trifling Incident; and kept in a continual Anxiety by a Vicissitude of Hopes, Fears, Wishes, and Disappointments.”

I found this quote interesting as I felt like I understood this the most out of all the text I have read so far. I often have trouble reading older literature, so having a quote like this helped me to understand a bit more context of the story and what characters might be going through. I also can relate to this sentence as, like many, I struggle with high expectations and anxiety around not meeting those expectations often. When trying to meet expectations, it is often difficult to see a brighter picture. I did need to look up the word vicissitude just to make sure I understood it well. Vicissitude means “alternation between opposite or contrasting things” in a literary sense. Once I did some research on this word, I found the passage a bit easier to understand too. 

While not under any specific quote, I found Lennox’s critique of romance literature really interesting. Lennox uses unrealistic ideals promoted by popular romance novels, such as female virtue, and male obsession. The chapters I have read through show Arabella applying these ideals to modern English society and creating humorous misunderstandings between her and others.

The novel questions whether romance literature educates or misleads women which I found to be an interesting discussion especially for what I know of this time period. (which admittedly is not a lot.)