Confession analysis
This assignment asks you to analyze “Confession” by Edith Wharton in relation to the gender stereotypes, assumptions, expectations and/or anxieties surrounding the Lizzie Borden case. You’ll focus on a particular aspect of your chosen story, and use it to make an argument about the story’s engagement with the Lizzie Borden case and its associated gender issues. Specifically, you may choose to analyze one or more characters, the use of dramatic irony, or the ending of your chosen story. Full details regarding suggested topics may be found below.
1) Analyze one or more of the main characters in “Confession” in terms of gender. (Think about the attributes the characters are assigned and how those attributes reflect or depart from the stereotypical attributes of conventional femininity/masculinity in the 19th century. Think about how things end up for each of them, too.) What is the story using these characters to say about gender stereotypes, assumptions, expectations and/or anxieties, e.g., with respect to women’s capacity for violence? What, by extension, is the story saying about the Borden case?
2) Analyze the use of dramatic irony in “Confession.” (Find all the places where Severance’s perspective is limited compared to other characters’ and or readers’ perspectives.) What purpose does dramatic irony serve with respect to the meaning of this work? What is the story using this literary device to say about gender stereotypes, assumptions, expectations and/or anxieties, e.g., with respect to women’s capacity for violence? What, by extension, is the story saying about the Borden case?
3) Analyze the lack of closure “Confession” offers, i.e. none. What gendered conflicts does the ending of this plot refuse to resolve? What is the story using this open ending to say about gender stereotypes, assumptions, expectations and/or anxieties, e.g., with respect to women’s capacity for violence? What, by extension, is the story saying about the Borden case?
