Marriage: 19th Century Style

Mondays, April 8, 2013 – May 13, 2013 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E Main, Hillsboro

Tuition: $185.00

REGISTER HERE.

“While the necessity to marry—or to survive a bad marriage—drives the plot of many 19th century novels, the real joy for many readers is the luxurious space those plots give writers like James and Wharton (and Eugenides’ in his contemporary adaptation) to explore the way human beings think and feel. To enter into those books is to let go of the fast drive of our present moment in history and inhabit a world profoundly layered with beauty and unease. I notice I breathe differently when I give over time to those writers. When I close their books, my own thoughts and interactions are saturated with a rich subtlety that’s at odds with my usually overscheduled day and fast exchanges on the cell phone and the internet. For this Delve, we’ll slow down, sip some wine, and share our thoughts on these great novels and what they reveal not only to us but about us.” –Guide Kathlene Postma

Delve is thrilled to partner with the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro for another exciting seminar. We’ll discuss The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth. We’ll also read Jeffrey Eugenides’ recently published novel, The Marriage Plot, as we consider how these brilliant novels employ and explore the social imperative for people to marry.

GUIDE: Kathlene Postma is a professor at Pacific University, where she teaches classes on creating and comprehending literary art. She has published fiction, poetry and nonfiction in numerous magazines, edits the literary review Silk Road, and directs Pacific’s visiting writers series.