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LitCourse 1

Calculating Love
Alicia d'Marvel (1949)

In Brief
Dara Bennett, the novel's young heroine, has just arrived in New York from a small Iowa college to take a position in a prestigious consulting firm. Her first assignment is with a firm founded and operated by charismatic Blake Darcy. The two are deeply attracted to one another, but as in all romance novels not all goes smoothly. We pick up the story in Chapter 12 as Blake confronts Dara: Why, he wants to know, has she been avoiding him? Read this selection first.

About the Author
Well, okay, Alicia doesn't actually exist. Nor does her novel, Calculating Love. To avoid copyright infringement, I've adapted this so-called "excerpt" from an actual formulaic romance novel. The scene is very, very close to its original; only the title, names, and plot have been changed to protect the innocent.

The Story of an Hour
Kate Chopin (1851-1904)

In Brief
Chopin wrote this story in the late 19th century when women led far more restricted lives than today. The story opens as Mrs. Mallard receives some shocking news, and her reaction is equally as shocking - at least it was during the time this story was written. Her views on love and marriage are vastly different from Dara's and would have disturbed, even offended, many of Chopin's contemporaries. Read the selection.

About the Author
Considered a minor writer of the late 19th century, Chopin was ignored for over 70 years. Feminist scholars rediscovered her works in the 1960's and have come to value their highly realistic style, provocative themes, and revealing insights into women's roles in her era.

Chopin's finest and best known work, The Awakening (a novel), was considered radical and offensive when first published in 1899. Our own LitCourse reading, "The Story of an Hour" has a similar theme.