Criticism | Le Salon

Nov 13

Do You Care About Literary Awards?

Explore the influence of literary awards in the publishing industry and book readership. Do award-winning novels equate to great literature?

Hex the Patriarchy: The Witch as a Feminist Symbol

Marisa

Nov 7

Hex the Patriarchy: The Witch as a Feminist Symbol

Uncover how the witch is a feminist symbol throughout history. Explore the intersection of witch hunts, patriarchy, & modern politics.

Why Are We Misremembering Classic Novels?

Marisa

Sep 26

Why Are We Misremembering Classic Novels?

At one of my recent virtual book discussions, we talked about Harper Lee’s widely read novel To Kill a Mockingbird . Many of the...

Visiting the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna

Marisa

Aug 17, 2023

Visiting the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna

The Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna is the birthplace of psychoanalysis. Walk through the where Freud worked and lived for nearly 50 years.

Measuring the Representation of Women in Fiction

Marisa

Dec 30, 2022

Measuring the Representation of Women in Fiction

The Bechdel-Wallace Test is a feminist way critique of art. By answering 3 key questions, you can evaluate if a work has rounded female char

Is the Netflix Adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover Worth Watching?

Marisa

Dec 5, 2022

Is the Netflix Adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover Worth Watching?

Netflix's adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' will hit the mark with those who enjoy steamy historical romances.

Why Austenites are Taking Issue with the New Adaptation of Persuasion while Bridgerton Gets a Pass

Marisa

Jun 20, 2022

Why Austenites are Taking Issue with the New Adaptation of Persuasion while Bridgerton Gets a Pass

Marisa

Jun 3, 2022

Netflix The Weekend Away Review

Netflix adaptation of Sarah Alderson's novel The Weekend Away (2020).

Book-to-TV Adaptation: Netflix Anatomy of a Scandal Review

Marisa

Apr 17, 2022

Book-to-TV Adaptation: Netflix Anatomy of a Scandal Review

I will admit that Sarah Vaughan’s 2018 novel Anatomy of a Scandal wasn’t on my radar until I saw the Netflix trailer. I was immediately...

Freud and the Uncanny: That Creepy Feeling You Get with a Spooky Book

Marisa

Oct 19, 2021

Freud and the Uncanny: That Creepy Feeling You Get with a Spooky Book

Why does somethings seem scary? Read about Freud's theory of the uncanny to understand how writers and movies manipulate our expectations.

Marisa

Sep 2, 2021

Getting Serious About Humour!

It may seem like it removes the funny ha-ha part of humour to talk about why we laugh, but there is a good reason to take a closer look:...

A Historic Glimpse of the French Literary Salons

Marisa

Jul 26, 2021

A Historic Glimpse of the French Literary Salons

What is a literary salon? Literary salons have their origins in the Renaissance idea of gathering for debate in the courts of Italy and...

Marisa

Jun 30, 2021

Book Diversity in Canadian Literature

Traditionally Canadian Literature, or CanLit, has highlighted voices of European settlers, been divided along English versus French...

Capturing the Gothic Life of Shirley Jackson on Film

Marisa

Apr 28, 2021

Capturing the Gothic Life of Shirley Jackson on Film

I finally had the time to sit down and watch the 2020 movie Shirley (currently on Amazon Prime), based on a novel of the same name by...

Charlotte Brontë's Rejected Novel 'The Professor'

Marisa

Apr 21, 2021

Charlotte Brontë's Rejected Novel 'The Professor'

On this day in 1816, Charlotte Brontë was born! So, it is only fitting that I recently completed my reading of the first novel she ever...

School Textbooks Reflect our Societal Values

Marisa

Apr 11, 2021

School Textbooks Reflect our Societal Values

I recently wrote a post about What Makes a Literary Classic in which I was thinking about what we culturally consider a ‘classic’ and how...

Filling the Literary Gaps: English Female Writers 1750 - 1915

Marisa

Mar 8, 2021

Filling the Literary Gaps: English Female Writers 1750 - 1915

Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature (2016) by Shelley DeWees is a delightful...

Reviewing One of the First English Novels

Marisa

Feb 24, 2021

Reviewing One of the First English Novels

How do you review a book that is 300 years old? The grammar, punctuation, and narrative structure are not like anything we see in today's...

Marisa

Jan 31, 2021

What Makes a Literary Classic?

Is it the amount of time that has passed? A wide readership? Originating from an ancient civilization? Defining a 'Classic' There is an...

Reader-Response Theory: Putting the "You" Back into Literary Criticism!

Marisa

Nov 2, 2020

Reader-Response Theory: Putting the "You" Back into Literary Criticism!

When diving into literary criticism, I always encourage people to start with reader-response theory because it is something most people...

C O N T A C T