victorian literature!!

just trying to keep all the catherines straight and miss seacole's adventures in order

[connorwashburn09-blog]

Pemberton’s “Hounding Holmes”

Throughout Neil Pemberton’s article, titled Hounding Holmes: Arthur Conan Doyle, Bloodhounds and Sleuthing in the Late-Victorian Imagination, Pemberton makes an interesting comparison between Sherlock Holmes and a bloodhound. Known for his remarkable knowledge and outside the box thinking, Holmes is a one of the most regarded detectives in world literature. Ironically, bloodhounds are also famous for their detective work. Typically used to follow the scent of a suspect, Bloodhounds are well regarded for their investigative work. Much similar to Holmes, bloodhounds are successful at what they do, making them a symbolic breed for detective work. While the comparison does not go extremely deep, readers can find interest in the remarkable comparison of Homes to bloodhounds, and their exceptional ability to sniff out suspects.  

[unofficiallychance-blog]

I like what you said, although I don’t find it remarkable that he compared Holmes to a bloodhound. From the beginning of Hound of the Baskerville, it was easy to relate Sherlock Holmes himself to a hound dog of any breed. The phrase “ on his tail like a hound on a hunt” comes echoing to my mind in any investigator/ detective story. I felt like this piece pointed out a relatively obvious reference to the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Bloodhound. The part that was sort of interesting in the serial , was Doyle’s choice to use a hound. Did he consciously do it knowing the similarities in their traits between Holmes and Hounds? Or I could have very well have just been a coincidence.

[oscarswildin-blog]

I agree with you on the fact that the use of the hound did enhance the novel, but much more so because it was published serially. Knowing Conan Doyle, however, I don’t think this was just a coincidence - the Hounding Holmes article mentioned a couple of of his other works that use the “sleuthhound” idea!

[shoqueenglish-blog]

The Representation of the Bloodhound

 In Neil Pemberton’s selection, he discusses multiple ways how Conan Doyle uses the bloodhound to enhance his plot. For instance initially, the bloodhound functioned as a ghost who haunted others down for revenge. However at the end, we find out that the bloodhound is actually a real animal that is trained to hunt. Conan Doyle uses bits of Victorian culture such as the  doglike characteristics of the bloodhound such as “sniffing a scent out” or “finding the culprit” to attribute to Holmes’ investigative style and how he comes up with his reasoning. This leads to the bloodhound having a sense of detective and productive connotation. It can be used to understand Sherlock a little more since we cannot read his thoughts from the first person point of view.

[nicoleamoreno]

I did some research on the bloodhound breed. They are large scent hounds, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, and for tracking people. This was an interesting choice of dog for Conan Doyle to choose to write into the story. It seems to be a detective against another detective. Sherlock against the bloodhound. I like what you had to say about how this animal is trained to hunt. He is trained in the same way Sherlock “practiced” solving mysteries. While these two beings are trained they also have a natural ability to solve mysteries, a leg up above the other detectives of the world.

[oscarswildin-blog]

WHOA...I really like the idea of “bloodhound vs. bloodhound”!!!!!! That’s genius!!!! I also think it’s fair to say “bloodhound vs. sleuthound” instead if you want to get more specific. While one is out for blood based on a specific scent (the Baskervilles!) and training, Holmes is not out for blood...just the criminal. He is “sleuthing” while the literal hound is actually hunting...like, in for the kill. But I agree with the two different hounds having a natural ability to solve mysteries aside from their training, though I’m not sure if Holmes was ever really “trained”. 

[mdatamu-deactivated20190427]

Bloodhounds with the distinction of modernity

Though the sport and the hobby of training and utilizing bloodhounds in Victorian England was said to be popular because it connected English with their nation’s long history, there was a clear distinction Victorians stressed between their productive crime fighters and the bloodthirsty beasts of the past. As Neil Pemberton states in his essay, Hounding Holmes: Arthur Conan Doyle, Bloodhounds and Sleuthing in the Late-Victorian Imagination, “To breeders, the dog’s remarkable gift to modern criminal detection lay in its ability to track the fugitive’s body odour, which was also interpreted as a clear indication of the dog’s transformation from a savage predator to a safe crime-solving tool.” Though the Victorians had their medieval ancestors to thank for the first use of bloodhounds and their tracking gifts, they prided themselves on modernizing and civilizing the practice, as Victorians saw themselves doing the same in just about every facet of life.

[oscarswildin-blog]

I really like the way you worded this, and I agree with your idea that the Victorians prided themselves on modernizing and civilizing the practice of breeding/training bloodhounds the same way they saw themselves revolutionizing the world, essentially. Britain had a strong sense of nationalism at this time especially because they were literally at the head of the world with every other country falling behind. They were all-powerful and at the center of industrialization, invention, and life as a whole - an unstoppable machine. Another piece of information that could be added to this would be the fact that the Victorians/Britain had to “fix” the bloodhound’s reputation after the Americans destroyed it, again displaying their sense of nationalism and leadership as they continued to set the example for the world.

[starlightstarbright12]

Goblin Market

Some discussion questions for this poem are what are the fruits symbolic of? What are the goblin men symbolic of? What is the deeper meaning of Lizzie going to the goblin men for Laura? Why is she able to resist them trying to make her eat their fruit?

This poem has a lot of symbolism but I am not sure what the different things are supposed to be symbolizing. The theme of love between sisters and doing anything for family is clear, but most of the poem is ambiguous.

[michelle-castro-g-blog]

When I was reading about the fruit it reminded me of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. Laura ate the forbidden fruit and almost died, similarly to Jeanie, who ended up dying due to the fruits in the Goblin Market

[oscarswildin-blog]

Personally, I wrote my midterm paper on this, but I feel that the fruits are symbolic of innocence, virginity, and purity - everything that was “coveted” in a “good Victorian woman”. The Goblin Men are in some ways rapists and/or pedophiles who take advantage of this “innocence”, in basic words.

I never really thought about the significance Lizzie going to the market for Laura as a Victorian woman thing, but I did consider it as a “women in history” thing - this action makes Lizzie one of the first female “heroes” in a tale, and Laura doesn’t need a man to save her, she just needs her sister (is this Disney’s Frozen?). This makes the poem revolutionary in a sense that women were always made to be submissive to men, but Lizzie was able to resist the men (the goblins) and their temptation in order to save her sister, therefore breaking the mold in two ways.

[tamurachel-blog1]

A Horse of a Different Color

Robert Dingley compares the narrative of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s cabin. The similarities seem obvious enough that when Black Beauty was released in the USA it was titled Black Beauty: his Grooms and Companions. By A. Sewell. The Uncle Tom’s Cabin of the Horse. However it should be noted that Dingley was not directly comparing slavery to the plight of the horse because then Sewell would have to argue for the freedom of the horses and I think Sewell was more interested in the fair treatment of the horses, mainly eradicating the use of Bearing reigns,  rather than setting them free.

[oscarswildin-blog]

I really like your take on this. I want to add the use of a “horse of a different color” that appears in another important work - The Wizard of Oz. The “Horse of a Different Color” is the name of the color-changing horse that pulls the main ensemble’s carriage through the Emerald City, however, this horse lives a sharply-contrasted “wonderful” life in the land of Oz compared to Beauty, who absolutely does not.

[jmonty26-blog]

This meme features the women fashion back in the Victorian Era. This is a funny yet true meme. First of all, I mean no disrespect to anyone reading this post. I will only state the facts and compare. If you look back at images of women in the Victorian Era what do you see? You will see these long dresses that cover every part of the woman. The only see that is showing is the skin on their face and sometimes hands. I do not know why women dressed like this. Therefore, I do not know when the shift started. Present time, women do not dress like this. The style from my observations is to show skin. It is ok to show skin in women’s fashion nowadays. I jus thought it was a big difference. I also wanted to know what happened. Like what changed for women’s fashion to go completely covered to not really covered. 

[oscarswildin-blog]

OH HERE’S A REALLY INTERESTING ARTICLE ON FEMALES AND VICTORIAN FASHION!!! https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Victorian-Fashion/

the shorter skirts became a staple in 1920, about the same time as they did here as fashion went from “look as female as possible while being mostly covered” with corsets and bustiers to “baggy clothes and loose-fitting, shorter skirts” where boyish figures and fewer curves became “the style”

[oscarswildin-blog]

yes i really did just spend an hour on this, so tag yourself - which hound of the baskervilles character are you?

i’m henry baskerville rip

[oscarswildin-blog]

victorian children, didacticism, and The Stereotype

For my end-of-year research project, I will be writing and illustrating a children’s picture book, which serves as a didactic tale that teaches young boys and girls the “norms” of Victorian society through allegory and metaphor. This story will serve to teach children (Victorian-era children, that is) the way that members of Victorian society “should” act while still maintaining a lighter, child-friendly tone (but with contradicting-ly harsh undertones). The book in question will follow the story of a young girl and boy who observe cultural norms as they “should” be in society, mirroring them (almost as if playing a game) in order to be “good children” and make their families proud. 

As a future high school teacher, I have learned in my RDNG 465 class that picture books are just as important in every grade, and they’re not just for students in grades five and below. Especially with an allegory, using picture books can open a huge door for class discussion about perspective and segue perfectly into the unit of Victorian Literature. As Wuthering Heights is a widespread high school read, it is important that students learn about the beliefs of the characters in the novel so they can understand their actions (and why those sometimes-asinine actions are not looked down upon). As a partially-visual learner, using picture books and visual graphics has definitely affected my success, and I would like to provide the same for my future students who may also require a visual aid in understanding the material they are studying.

[jmonty26-blog]

Reviews from Kids Under 18 about “Black Beauty”

“I couldn’t put it down!I was fully expecting to hate this novel, but I found that I couldn’t put it down. For some reason, the thoughts of a horse captivated me and I was totally engrossed in the story. It really teaches a lesson about animal cruelty and everyone should at least give it a try. Even if you don’t think you’ll like it, you may be surprised.“ age 15 

“Perfect for everyone over 10I loved it. I love horses, and i hate how mean people are to horses. Sometimes, i sit in a corner and think about all that i can do to help these horses. This is a good book, and i feel that everyone should read this book.” age 12 

“love it! this is a sad book but it gets better threw the book i want to read it again and again and again” age 9 

I have a question that I want to point out. Is “Black Beauty” a children book or not? I personally feel that it is a children’s book for a number of reasons. Reason number one, it is the perfect story to show children in learning how to treat animals the right way vs. the wrong way. Reason number two, all the movies that have come out are circled around a children’s movie. No movie has come out very dark or blunt. They have all been children friendly movies. Final reason, when reading it it just feels like a book for children. However, I feel it should be read by people of all ages because the author tells and writes a great story. 

[oscarswildin-blog]

I feel that by nature it is a children’s book, didactically it is a children’s book, but it is also an allegory that adults can catch onto. Children will read this as not mistreating animals, but adults can understand the metaphor of taking advantage of/mistreating those who have less of a voice and/or are considered “weaker” by society. Using children’s quotes was absolutely genius - I kind of find it interesting that none of these kids were scared/saddened too much to read the book...like none of them were hit TOO HARD to want to never pick it up again. 

[carlos-victorian]

More than just a deviation of the prose-heavy literary scene of Victorian England, Mrs Warren’s Profession is play in which author Bernard Shaw constructs a story that is chiefly concerned with the hypocrisy that condemns women for their seemingly questionable decisions while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge the role in which these critics had on a women’s career. 

In the song I’ve linked for today’s post, Kendrick Lamar deals with similar themes of financial success and the unique position that women are placed in when navigating their futures. Providing his commentary over the paradox, Lamar writes:

[women] don’t prosper chasing education

But you’re talented, and can’t handle it

And your homegirls can’t be your manager

365 times four, plus more

If you can’t get it right, tell me, do you got

the stamina?

In this critique, Lamar questions the worth of a college degree, asserting that for while a women may have earnest intentions, their obtainment of a degree does not guarantee the same financial security as it would for a man. In Lamar’s eyes, women are presented with two options: prostitution or education. The former of these options is seen with the implications of having the “stamina” to keep up with physical strain that repeated prostitution has on the body. Additionally, Lamar is also quick to point out how one of the drawbacks to pursuing education is the time in which it takes to obtain a degree. In the “365 times four, plus more” portion of the quote, Lamar is saying in time it takes for a degree-seeking women to pursue their careers, other women are already securing another month’s salary. While not mentioned in the quote above, Lamar also goes on to say that “ain’t no money like fast money” which is to suggest that, given their circumstances, it makes sense that women would turn to prostitution as a shortcut for success. 

Echoing the Pulitzer Prize recipient, Mrs. Warren makes similar statements when she first revealed the details about her past to Vivie. In her revelation, Mrs. Warren goes on to discuss the split paths of her family where she and Liz prospered from using their physical appearance as part of their jobs and the other two half-sisters lived in sad situations (one even died from lead poising). Mrs. Warren goes on to criticize how society does not reward women for their respectability, making it so that they are forced to choose between respectable monotony or inappropriate prosperity. Similar to Lamar, this sentiment presents a binary where women are better off taking control of their own destines if it means financial security.   

[oscarswildin-blog]

This is incredibly interesting!!! Sharing because 1. this needs to be SEEN and 2. it’s interesting that this point of view isn’t to deliberately degrade/objectify women (like many other modern songs/artists), but to provide that point of view that is somewhat true in today’s world. I really like the idea of “stamina” - it’s basically asking women “so, can you keep up?” not only with college and education, but with the ever-changing, paradoxical “requirements” of society. Maybe this is one of the reason Mrs. Warren doesn’t get rid of the brothel, even though she could do without it - is it there as a “fallback” or “just in case” society changes its mind, or more as a "this is all i know”?

[oscarswildin-blog]

The different perceptions of the Hound of the Baskervilles - I find these incredibly interesting in the sense that they are all pretty different.In terms of similarities - the last one (which I believe is the movie version) and the second one share the red eyes, while all but the fourth photo share the extremely sharp teeth. The fourth one stands out because this dog, especially compared to the others, looks relatively harmless. He also has the most realistic face and body shape relative to that of an actual bloodhound. 

In terms of accuracy: The first one looks like a werewolf, the second one is too "imaginated”, the third one seems to be the one most described by the novel, the fourth one is too docile, and the fifth one is so CGI’d and edited it doesn’t look as much like a dog anymore and more like something Tim Burton dreamed up.

Overall, this just shows a few of the many different perceptions of the hound that exist now and could’ve existed then....making the story different from every point of view.

[oscarswildin-blog]

Logical Fallacies in Hound of the Baskervilles

Something that makes every single mystery (especially a murder mystery) much more interesting is the use of herrings.

No, not the literal nasty smelling fish “herring” - the “herring” that is used to enhance the “plot twists” and throw a wrench in reader theories while reading a mystery. 

The most notable of these is the “Red Herring”, officially defined as “a logical fallacy in which someone deliberately introduces an irrelevant subject or topic to throw an argument off course or divert people’s attention”. In words that aren’t the dictionary’s, a Red Herring in a mystery is essentially the person framed with seemingly-obvious evidence to make the reader believe they committed the crime, but didn’t actually do it.

Conan Doyle uses the Red Herring fallacy in Hound of the Baskervilles by pointing out correlation between the escaped convict and another murder, and also between the butler Barrymore and his tendency to walk around the house late at night (and also coincidentally have a beard) in the same way that the suspect does.

Examples of Red Herrings in other famous literary works include: Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: (Harry, Ron, and Hermione all thought he was trying to steal the Stone when it was actually Professor Quirrell) (honestly...Snape in the whole series) Malcolm in The Sixth Sense: turns out he was literally dead the entire time and isn’t just a child psychologist but a dead child psychologist with unfinished business who isn’t really helping his patient not talk to dead people at all. Disney’s Frozen: Elsa seems like the bad guy, but it’s actually Hans, who later gets punched in the face by Ana, which is glorious. Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief: Percy believes that Hades is the one who is trying to destroy Mount Olympus (which would make sense), but it turns out to be Luke instead.

[oscarswildin-blog]

Hounds and Holmes: Blurring the Lines

One of the most interesting things I found while reading the Hounding Holmes article was that the pedigree bloodhound was “a species existing between past and present, fiction and reality” (456). Like this hound, Holmes also exists on these edges of realism and fantasy, blurring the lines between human and inhuman in the way that he is able to sleuth out and track down material. Yes, Holmes is characterized as a real man, but his fantastical skills (the way he solves “the crime”) are almost supernatural (like the Hound of the Baskervilles) in the sense that he uses senses that are “doglike” and not attributed to humans. In a way, Watson is the trusted handler (trust is a huge deal in the handler/bloodhound relationship (460)) and Holmes is his trustworthy hound - always sleuthing out the criminal or the solution to each case.

[tabitha-victorianlit-blog]

“Hounding Holmes” amidst the height of the British Empire

I found the article “Hounding Holmes” remarkable for many reasons, one of which being the indirect comparison of different hounds with the countries they are bred from. Most notably was the crude descriptions of Spanish and Cuban bloodhounds and even the Americans versus the eloquent and decadent descriptions of the English. In accordance, the article places the English hounds well above the others without expressively stating it, merely implying it. The Victorian era was the height of the British Empire and this indirect comparison is an outward example of the concepts of the time period. This was at the time that the sun never set on the British Empire thus setting the tone for the “superiority” of England over all the others.

[oscarswildin-blog]

When you mentioned this in the fishbowl I was M I N D B L O W N. This is such a good inference that none of us picked up on, and it really brought a lot of depth to the conversation. Another thing that the article said that kind of goes along with this is that the British basically had to “fix” the reputation of bloodhounds after the Americans went and messed it up (shocker) by using the animal to complete inhumane tasks such as hunting down/chasing and killing runaways (slaves, prisoners, etc.). The British used the bloodhound as “an investigative tool” (455) that “[intensified] national unity and satisfied British nostalgia”...aka, their sense of pride and nationalism for their country. (456)

[connorwashburn09-blog]

The Lack of Liberation for Domesticated Animals

Inspired from from Robert Dingey’s article, A Horse of a Different Color, One might question whether domesticated animals could ever experience true liberation. In Dingey’s article, the Dingey addresses the lack of liberation that Beauty faced in Sewell’s novel, and compares it to the lack of liberation that is present in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Nevertheless, readers can take this comparison a step further, and question whether domesticated animals ever experience true liberation. While pet owners may dislike this discussion, the idea that domesticated animals are neglected of true liberation is undisputable. Domesticated animals are incapable of doing as they please. They are fixated to the ownership of another, and are required to submit to this hierarchy. However, this does not mean that domesticated animals do not benefit from ownership, this just means that they are deprived of true liberation. 

[oscarswildin-blog]

I agree with this idea of the lack of liberation in Black Beauty and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, however, as someone who adopted a rescue, I feel that domesticated animals can have what can be considered as “true liberation”. Found in a box under a bed in a hoarding situation, my dog Mozzie was rescued as a puppy along with 75 other animals in total from a trailer home outside of Bryan. He now sleeps in a warm bed, eats regular meals (and then some), is free to run and play with other dogs. Though we may not consider this “true liberation” because we know the true ancestry of dogs, Mozzie does because he was “liberated” from a hoarding situation and then a kill shelter and is now living a life full of love and happiness because he knows what it feels like to be trapped - so this is freedom for him. In his world, he understands his hours at the dog park, time in the backyard, and endless naps as “liberation” because his life is not actively in danger anymore. Even though we know that wolves are meant to be wild, which is what we consider “true liberation”, Mozzie only understands this life as “true liberation”.

[victorian--literature-blog]

“But that cry of pain from the hound had blown all our fears to the winds. If he was vulnerable he was mortal, and if we could wound him we could kill him.”

Watson says this as he and Holmes face the feared phantom hound. This is the first step in facing any fear – recognize that the fear is something real, not a supernatural thing that cannot be fought or defeated. Once the fear is identified and normalized, then realize it has limitations. In this case, the dog was not supernatural; it was a real dog that felt pain. Once the thing feared is normalized, then face it and fight it, whether that fight is by shooting the dog, or running from an attacker, writing an English paper, or telling your girlfriend you want to break up, the fear can be faced and overcome.

-P67, ch 14, The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Conan Doyle

[victorianlitblog-blog]

Just to expand on your analysis - I think the resolution to this story is partially that fear can be tackled, that it is a tangible thing you can work through and face. I found it interesting that most of the denouement occurred in chapter 14 but I think the story is fully resolved as Holmes and Watson sit in their living room. It kind of brings us full circle and back to a place where reason rules; a living room with no ghosts or fears.

[oscarswildin-blog]

This is incredibly true - as a trapeze artist (yes that’s my actual job) the first thing I was ever taught is that FEAR is an acronym for “false evidence appearing real”. In this case, Holmes is one to typically base his generalizations around reason and deductions, and he prides himself on his ability to detect false evidence, or lies. I feel that the resolution of this story is not only that fear can be tackled (thank you chapter 14 of denouement) but that in order to do so one must find the reasons as to why the fear is implausible and go from there. (example: someone says “I’m scared of the dark”. Why am I scared of the dark? Because there’s monsters in it. Do I believe in monsters? yes. Why do I believe in monsters? What proof do I have that monsters exist? Is this real proof, or just my perception of F.E.A.R speaking?)

[oscarswildin-blog]

From the fishbowl discussion about Hounding Holmes, here is my comparison of Holmes to a Hound, which discusses/represents their similarities and differences.

alt caption: here is an amazingly-drawn venn diagram that is perfectly symmetrical and maybe i should just drop out and draw circles for a living

(the part that’s cut off under “instinct” says “huge division between humans and dogs)