Gilman and Chopin

We've spent a lot of time this semester discussing authorship-- what it means to be an author vs. a writer, how gender constructs our idea of an author, and how some authors become "major" while others remain "minor"-- which has been both fruitful and engaging. But now I'd like to turn our discussion to an element of literature that doesn't receive a whole lot of attention: the reader.

Our readings this week are both short stories, a genre we haven't seen much of in recent weeks, mainly because nineteenth-century readers liked their novels long. As we approach the 20th century, however, the short story gains popularity.

In this week's blog posting, I'd like you to discuss how your reading habits change when you encounter a short story vs. an except of a long, drawn-out novel. Do you read more carefully? Look for more details? Or are your reading habits exactly the same?

You should, as always, use the text in your posting. I imagine it will be even more challenging this week because your post is not interpretive, but you should still use the text as evidence of your changing (or not) reading habits.

Happy blogging.