Fridays 10-12 Noon
March 28 through May 16, 2003
D.O.C. House
(not April 25)
Little Dorrit is one of Dickens' great later novels in which the comic vision that informs all of Dickens' work mingles with the kind of penetrating social analysis and savage satire that are unique to the novels of his maturity. At the center of this novel are Amy Dorrit, "the child of the Marshalsea," and Arthur Clennam, the son of joyless marriage, who is dogged by the admonition on his deceased father's watch, "do not forget." In some of Dickens' most memorable London settings - the Marshalsea debtors prison, Bleeding Heart Yard, and the Circulocution Office - these characters struggle to make sense of their oppressive and often mystifying inheritances and in so doing, to make a humane life for themselves and others. Mystery, romance, and even a spectacular Enron-esque business collapse form the plot by which they, and we, attempt to make sense of the new world wrought by industrial revolution and the energy of a rapacious and creative capitalism.
The format of this course is mostly discussion, with some background lecture provided by the group leader on the historical and social context of the novel. Participants should be forewarned that this course does involve a lot of reading (about 850 pages spread over seven meetings).
If you've had a bad experience with Dickens before (maybe that forced march through Great Expectations in high school), this is a great opportunity to read and experience him afresh with your fellow ILEAD-ites.
Class is limited to 20 participants.
Claire Doyle moved to the area from Minnesota, where she taught English and theology at the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University. She has a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from the University of Chicago. She has taught writing and literature in a number of institutions and also worked as a hospital chaplain.
