The Sign of [the] Four (1890): Watson--unreliable narrator, or unreliable observer?

November 12, 2014 / Ana Giovinazzo

Book: The Sign of [the] FourAuthor: Sir Arthur Conan DoyleYear published: 1890Reading date: July 17, 2014 — **Book:** *The Sign of [the] Four*
**Author:** Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
**Year published:** 1890
**Reading date:** July 17, 2014

"Watson creates a bridge between detective and reader by playing the part of the audience for Sherlock Holmes’s work. We are prevented from seeing the whole picture until Holmes is ready to paint it out."

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tags / mystery, novel, Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle, 19th century literature, fiction

“If this is a novel without a hero, at least let us lay claim to a heroine”: Becky Sharp as the Feminine Analogue to the Masculine Heroic Ideal in Vanity Fair

November 12, 2014 / Ana Giovinazzo

Book: Vanity FairAuthor: William Makepeace ThackerayYear published: 1847-8Reading date: Fall 2012 — **Book:** *Vanity Fair*
**Author:** William Makepeace Thackeray
**Year published:** 1847-8
**Reading date:** Fall 2012

"It is in this way that the narrator serves as Rebecca’s champion to his readers, applauding her agency and depicting her as the antithesis of a woman. She knows what she wants and is able to capture it, which makes her, in his eyes, incredibly powerful—even stronger than a man."

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tags / Victorian lit, 19th century literature, novel, satire, heroines, female agency

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The Sign of [the] Four (1890): Watson--unreliable narrator, or unreliable observer?

“If this is a novel without a hero, at least let us lay claim to a heroine”: Becky Sharp as the Feminine Analogue to the Masculine Heroic Ideal in Vanity Fair