Seriously

Robert sure has an obsession with the word "seriously" and how people view him "seriously," which makes sense since his mother ignores him, Adele brushes him off, and Edna is in a discombobulated struggle to figure out herself, or i.e. all his "mother figures" see him as a dreaming teenager. Poor Robert. As readers, we abandon him too at a certain point - the novella's not titled "Robert's Serious Adventure" or anything. Back to Edna - and her affection for the sea - she is struggling with her role as mother, wife to a reputation-minded spouse, friend to the epitome of womanhood, sandwiched between those repeating figures of the woman in black and the two lovers. Our class, as will the ones revolving around her "awakening" will chart not just the fact that she is known as Edna by the narrator, but how she adjusts to her decisions to challenge the status quo of feminine identity. (Would that make Mademoiselle Reisz a warning or an inducement to go for the independent route?)

With all that mind, we finished up our individual points regarding chapters 2-5 before launching into the Kate Chopin assessment, the presentation of short story, Chopin, and the literary world. You have your story in some form or another, so make sure not to wait to start reading, observing, and preparing for your eventual presentation.

To end the hour, we began our group analysis of chapters 6-11, which we will, probably, hopefully, dependent on your hour and what the school has planned for us, finish next class.

Reading-wise, move forward through Chapter 17. Seriously.