Student Reflection: Femininity in ​Lady Audley’s Secret

Abstract

Our group as a whole did not employ any one particular method when tracking the theme of femininity throughout the novel; however, we did seem to place more emphasis on and pay special attention to some of the same lines and passages. I, myself, chose to highlight sections that focused largely on the appearances, behaviors, and attitudes of the various female characters introduced throughout the novel in order to draw comparisons between each description. By tracking the theme of femininity in this way, I was able to gain a better understanding of how women were expected to behave in the Victorian era, as well as how men viewed them and how they viewed one another. I do not think I would have necessarily picked up on the findings/patterns I discussed in my analysis had I not been searching for words/lines/passages that related to femininity. The collaborative process allowed me to vocalize my thoughts on certain lines/passages (which were then turned into annotations), which I don’t think I would have gotten to do had this been an individual assignment. The annotations also helped when it came to noticing patterns/ideas throughout the course of the novel. Overall, I was happy with how this assignment was set up because it gave me a good framework for writing my analysis.