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Teaching the novel in context.

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One of my aims when teaching the novel is to draw students' attention to the intricate relationships between text and context, and I operate from the assumption that greater historical awareness produces illuminating readings of novels. To prepare students to write what I call a context paper, we peruse a variety of primary sources, such as newspapers and periodicals, in an effort to recreate the historical and cultural contexts from which a particular novel emerged and to see what light this information sheds on our understanding of the novel. This essay explores the challenges and possibilities of teaching novels in context.

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At a certain point in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, the parlor room conversation of Eliot's main characters turns from the game of roulette to "Jamaica" (376). Eliot, who situates the action of her novel during the year 1865, has her characters discuss the Jamaican Rebellion, which occurred in the same year. Both the Rebellion and the ruthless tactics Governor Eyre used to restore order to Jamaica triggered debate and controversy throughout Great Britain. Thus, the parlor room conversation merges with a larger discussion regarding the management of Britain's colonies that raged in the wake of the Rebellion. And on another level, the references to Jamaica shape the meaning of Eliot's novel.

Without some historical awareness, however, readers can easily look past the significance of Eliot's allusions to Jamaica. Unaware of the brutal means by which Governor Eyre put down the Rebellion, readers may not catch the full meaning of Eliot's description of Grandcourt as a man who, "if ... sent to govern a difficult colony, ... might have won reputation among his contemporaries. He had certainly ability, would have understood that it was safer to exterminate than to cajole superseded proprietors, and would not have flinched from making things safe in that way" (655). References such as this indicate Eliot's keen interest in imperial politics at the same time British imperial history affects the import of her narrative.

One of my principal aims when teaching the British novel to upper-division English majors is to draw students' attention to the intricate relationships between text and context exemplified by Eliot's treatment of the Jamaican Rebellion. I encourage my students to read novels against history and history against novels, and we peruse a variety of primary sources, such as newspapers and periodicals, in an effort to recreate the historical and cultural contexts from which particular novels emerged. I invite students to learn more about the historical events, social issues, and cultural phenomena referenced in novels to see what light this information sheds on our understanding of these texts,...

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