This resource can be used as supplemental teacher material or as a primary basis for literature study to:

• Draw students into a text with pre-reading questions and warm-up prompts, maintain engagement with in-class analysis through free-writing or discussion, and assess knowledge and comprehension with quizzes.
• Ensure deeper understanding and enjoyment of the literature with activities for all learning types.
• Stretch students’ critical thinking and writing skills with differentiated essay topics.

Note to Teachers: To support lesson-planning, connections to the work’s primary themes are noted throughout this resource (Objectification and Sexism, Fraud and Fraudulence, and Death and Decay).

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Gender roles within the construct of marriage have changed dramatically over time. Significant historical events in Europe and North America from the 19th century until the present day, for example, have contributed to shifts in power dynamics in married couples. What are some of the differences in ways that married couples interacted in the 19th century versus their interaction today? In what ways have the general characteristics of marriage as an institution changed? What historical events likely contributed to these changes?