ENGL: 449 Fictions of Fallen Women ~ Dr. Forster
Dr. Forster’s course will examine the stylistic development of the American novel from its beginnings through the early twentieth century by considering the changing representation of the figure of the fallen woman. The class will study the earliest American novels’ adaptation of the English seduction story, examine how the trope is mobilized during the antebellum period by both abolitionist and Romantic writers, and consider the reinterpretation of the figure in postbellum realist and naturalist texts to address social issues associated with the dramatic rise of industrial capitalism.