Spring...and essays.

The warm weather is glorious. There's been much taking of walks and other such activities. For me, there has also been much writing of essays.
First of all, for literature I just finished reading Milton's Paradise Lost. Now I need to write an essay on it. There was an interesting point I thought of. At one part, all the devils in their new home, Hell, are having a meeting regarding the creation of the world. Satan says something about the humans who are about to be created. It reminded me of last year reading Dante's Divine Comedy. In the Inferno there is some discussion about the "foresight of the damned." The idea is that those in Hell can see into the past of earthly events and into the future, but are unable to know what is going on in the present unless informed by someone else. Thus, when Dante speaks with the damned, they often ask him about the political state of Italy. Back to Paradise Lost. Satan, by mentioning the people about to be created, demonstrates just that foresight. He can see into the future, and into the past, but can he see the present? It is to be doubted.

Another Essay I'm writing is for the Jane Austen Society of North America essay contest. The prompt this year is: 

Examine a single Jane Austen novel or several and show different ways characters engage with their culture, views, mores, or living conditions.  How does participation in their world affect each character’s development?  You might look at how a character approaches material culture, physical or emotional space, interpersonal relations, social class, wealth, or gender.  You may consider elements of Jane Austen’s world that have inherently negative or positive influences on characters and events in the novels.

I'm doing my essay on Emma. Emma is the only one of Jane Austen's heroines to be a member of high society and not in need of any money. The novel treats a lot on class distinction. Think of Ms. Bates, the argument with Mr. Knightley regarding Harriet Smith and her potential marriage to Robert Martin the farmer, Mr. Elton's ill-bred bride, the Coles' party, Jane Fairfax's obligation to become a governess. There are so many examples in Emma of how her view of the world is shaped by the society she lives in. There is an essay at the JASNA site about the possibility of Emma being the novel about "ordination." 

I also just finished an essay for my French midterm, which was comparing the writings we have translated of Victor Hugo and Jean de la Fontaine. It was quite easy to write!

And now the 70° weather is calling to me. Off I go!