Seminar 4. A New Life for an Old Genre: generic model of a Victorian Industrial novel in David Lodge's "Nice Work"
1. Resolving social conflicts in Elizabeth Gaskell’s “North and South”
- “new woman” vs “angel in the house”
- reach vs poor
- traditions vs innovations
2. Ironic re-reading of Victorian pretext in David Lodge’s “Nice Work”
- What are the core dichotomies setting Lodge’s plot into action? Do they correspond to those of Gaskell’s novel?
- What key changes does Lodge introduce into original plot and why? What is the function of industrial setting in Lodge’s novel?
- What are the main objects of the author’s irony? Could you propose another ending for the novel?
3. Postmodern reevaluation of Victorian metanarrative in David Lodge’s “Nice Work”
- Which Victorian values are being reevaluated in the derivative text, in what way (destruction, deconstruction or reconstruction) and why?