Reflection on Early American Novel Class

This Early American Novel class has offered me an interesting perspective on how people viewed gender roles and sexuality in the 19th century. Gender roles aren't usually what I think about when I start reading a novel, and if I do think of them, I tend to realize it once I've finished the book or am mostly finished. But approaching each of the novels we read this semester with a lens of how each story treated the roles of body, gender, sexuality, and other things, allowed me to see patterns that I normally wouldn't have expected to see.

For example, "Ormund" by Charles Brockden Brown took me by surprise in how progressive his female characters were for the time in which the novel was written. Constantia was the one who managed the household, even though her father was still alive. And then there was Martinette, who cross-dressed and took part in the military. We don't get the chance, at least in structured classroom settings, to see depictions of strong (specifically physically strong) female characters in early literature. Despite the more difficult reading that "Ormund" was, it was refreshing to see such strong women in early fiction.

I enjoyed this class. I liked that it was only once a week, and I really liked the structure of allowing the students to choose the direction of discussion. Of the assignments, I enjoyed the adaptation project the most, because it challenged my group members and I to think about one of the novels in a modern setting. Once we came up with the idea for the interrogation, the project became fun as we tried to figure out what to use for the project. Overall, I would say that I would suggest this class to anyone wanting to take a 300 level English course, especially if they have an interest in novels that aren't as well known, and have an interest in discussions on gender roles in early American literature.