Glass in Villette

The Retriever weekly , the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) student newspaper, carries an opinion article covering the recent lecture "Glass under glass at the Crystal Palace: The case of Charlotte Brontë's Villette" by Isobel Armstrong hosted by the English Department.

Professor Armstrong is a Professor Emeritus of English at Birbeck College London. She's also currently a Visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and she is considered worldwide to be one of the most significant Victorianists of this generation. Her lecture, which focused on mirrored glass at both The World Fair's Crystal Palace exhibit as well as in Brontë's Villette.

Connecting glass to "Villette", Professor Armstrong talked about the constant reoccurrence of mirrors in the novel. "Villette" is one of Bronte?s most interesting books, and the glass which Professor Armstrong references speak to moments in the novel in which the main character gains new understanding of the world around her. Glass, and mirrors in particular, are multifunctional, as they allow for new perceptions of people as well as a way to keep constant surveillance on others without their knowledge.

Isobel Armstrong is the author and editor of many books about Victorian Literature. Among them are titles like The Radical Aesthetic and Language as Living Form in 19th Century Poetry. She is the editor of numerous collected works, such as a full collection of Angela Carter's stories.

Categories: In_the_News, Talks, Scholar, Villette, Charlotte_Brontë