DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Toreeva, Natalia

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 14
Fall 12-1-2017
Woman and Flute
Natalia Toreeva
College of DuPage
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Toreeva, Natalia (2017) "Woman and Flute," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 14.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/14
9Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
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Toreeva: Woman and Flute
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English

Woman and Flute

Weis, Robin

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 35
Fall 12-1-2017
Squeeze
Robin Weis
College of DuPage
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Weis, Robin (2017) "Squeeze," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 35.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/35
36Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Rain Revelation
Amy Peter
Today walking back to your house, 
I held the umbrella for us. 
But I realized something unsettling to my heart. 
That I would do anything to keep you dry, 
but you wouldn’t hop a puddle for me. 
It’s true. 
You don’t care enough for me, 
for me to care this much about you. 
I’ll find my puddle hopper, 
I’ll find my river forder. 
I’ll find my ocean crosser, 
but you don’t deserve someone like me 
who’d cross oceans for you. 
Robin Weis, 
“Squeeze”.  Acrylic on canvas. 
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Weis: Squeeze
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Squeeze

Crawford, Ronda

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 50
Fall 12-1-2017
Rebecca in Human Resources
Ronda Crawford
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Crawford, Ronda (2017) "Rebecca in Human Resources," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 50.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/50
56Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Don’t shed that which is learned in haste, 
for some must remain, 
as the foundation of everything 
life is meant to hold. 
  
Go forth, spread your wings. 
Risk everything.
Rebecca in Human Resources
Ronda Crawford
 Dearest Rebecca,  
 
 I am writing regarding the reference you requested, I was 
deeply flattered that you thought of me. You not only remembered 
my difficult to pronounce name but when you spelled it correctly, I 
was touched. Just think after 5 years of working side by side on the 
same team you finally got it right. As you would say, “gold star for 
Becks today”. I want to apologize for the delay but I was concerned 
my punctuation might be a bit too aggressive, so I wanted to start my 
letter with a trigger warning. I know all you’ve had to endure with 
the hostile commas in text messages and emails, especially after that 
horrible parentheses incident with Rodriguez. Some may call it hyste-
ria, but if it wasn’t for you we might have been the victims of covertly 
abusive syntax. No matter what anyone else says, it was obvious you 
were heartbroken that Miguel had to be let go. And just between you 
and me, I don’t think you were ever shown the proper appreciation 
for that act of heroism and self-sacrifice. I would like to take this 
opportunity to step out the box and let you know that some of us 
will never, ever forget you or any of the many policies you personally 
spearheaded and helped implement. 
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57Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
 
 Everyone knows you are incredibly soft spoken and modest 
under normal circumstances, and I really hope I didn’t embarrass 
you. But when your prospective employer called I just couldn’t help 
going on and on about the courage you displayed when the office was 
almost robbed by that suspicious character last fall. If it wasn’t for 
your keen instincts and ability to dial 911 who knows what could have 
happened. As you’ve pointed out repeatedly, we all have indeed seen 
the news on Facebook and know this city is just rife with violence, 
your fears were completely justified. Thank goodness it was only 
Jonas from IT rushing to make your conference call, and since the 
police didn’t detain him that long I guess it all worked out in the end. 
Besides who wears a hoodie and jeans to the office, on a Saturday, at 
a software company. (Rest assured no one talks anymore about you 
two hooking up at the Christmas party, or the fact that he got en-
gaged shortly after. Everyone has discussed it ad nauseum and knows 
there was absolutely no connection). 
 
 I hope this message finds you in good spirits as you move on 
to your next challenge. Please know that I will sleep well tonight if I 
in anyway helped paint a picture of who you really are. Not just as a 
professional, but deep down to your core as a human being. In closing 
I’d like to again thank you for creating a safe space for us all. Know 
that many of us even in your absence still feel your impact.  
 
Warmest regards,  
Your ethnic friend 
P.S. You still can’t touch my hair, so please stop asking it’s just 
weird.
Snakes,
Paul Giacalone
Macrophotography
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 40, No. 1 [2017], Art. 50
http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/50


Rebecca in Human Resources

ESSAI
Volume 15 Article 4
Spring 2017
Acknowledgments
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Prefatory Note is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for
inclusion in ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
(2017) "Acknowledgments," ESSAI: Vol. 15 , Article 4.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/4
III 
 
Acknowledgments 
 
 
 
We warmly salute all submitting instructors for their dedicated and inspired teaching 
which has contributed to the successful writing of their students and make it possible for 
ESSAI to continue. 
 
 
We also offer our special thanks to 
Dr. Ann Rondeau, President, 
Dr. Donna Stewart, Vice President Academic Affairs, 
Dr. Kirk Overstreet, Associate Vice President Academic Affairs, 
 
 
Mr. Chuck Boone, Dean, Arts, Communication, and Hospitality, 
Dr. M. Ahmad Chaudhry, Dean, Biology and Health Sciences, 
Dr. Mark Collins, Associate Dean, Adjunct Faculty, 
Ms. Marianne Hunnicutt, Dean, Social/Behavioral Sciences and the Library 
Dr. Sandra Martins, Dean, Liberal Arts, 
For their constant, gracious support and encouragement. 
 
 
 
 
Our gratitude also goes to Karyin Boulom. 
Her meticulous and careful word processing expertise has been indispensable. 
 
 
 
 
Our special and heartfelt appreciation goes to Professor Blevins’ student, Tania 
Gonzalez, who designed the book cover.  The others who submitted designs were 
Laura Braithwaite, Alexa Ferrara, Milan Novick, and Juan Salinas. 
 
 
 
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Acknowledgments

Beutler, Jack

Muscles and Fishnets: Exploring the Similar Autoerotic Elements within Body Image

Burker, Tessa

Enter the Hidden Dimension Behind Your Screen: The Deep Web

Dominguez, Nicole

ESSAI
Volume 15 Article 16
Spring 2017
Lovely Weather for a Wedding Marriage in
Shakespeare Plays
Nicole Dominguez
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Dominguez, Nicole (2017) "Lovely Weather for a Wedding Marriage in Shakespeare Plays," ESSAI: Vol. 15 , Article 16.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/16
36 
Lovely Weather for A Wedding 
Marriage in Shakespeare Plays 
 
by Nicole Dominguez 
 
(English 2228) 
 
 
 
n nearly all of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a marriage. Whether it’s the presence of a married 
couple or two people who will be wed, it is a common theme in his works, especially in his 
comedies. Yet, the playwright adopts individualized approaches to each of the marriages in As 
You Like It, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Hamlet, highlighting defining points of the characters, 
while revealing his own understanding of the concept. 
 Marriage is as a central theme that propels the action in most of Shakespeare’s comedies. In 
terms of Midsummer Night’s Dream the action is propelled by the avoidance of a marriage. Hermia 
is denied the right to marry the one she loves by her father, Egeus, and Theseus, the Duke of Athens, 
resulting in Hermia and her lover, Lysander, running away, with Helena and Demetrius following, 
creating chaos. The subplot of the play is also driven by this, with Oberon and Titania’s tumultuous 
marriage, spurring Oberon to meddle with the couples, and tricking Titania to fall in love with 
Bottom. Without the presence of marriage, either through conflict within it or through its avoidance, 
the plot of the play would not exist. In terms of the play As You Like it, the plot is not driven by a 
marriage or the need for a wedding, but the central and minor conflicts are all rectified by the 
marriage of the opposing characters. 
 As an example, Oliver and Orlando in As You Like It give proof of their 
reconciliation by both getting married, along with Phoebe and Silvius, and Touchstone and 
Audrey. In the same way, the conflict in Midsummer Night’s Dream is resolved with the 
triple wedding of Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, and Theseus and Hippolyta, 
and with Oberon and Titania making amends. Through how it’s represented in its comedies, 
Shakespeare sees marriage as a tool for healing and the promise of a brighter future. 
 In contrast, just as he uses marriage as resolution in his comedies, Shakespeare 
presents marriage as the catalyst for conflict in his tragedies (Hopkins). A prime example of 
this is in Hamlet. Following the death of Hamlet’s father, and his removal from the line of 
succession, the marriage of his mother Gertrude to his uncle Claudius is Hamlet’s breaking 
point, arguably the final act that sends him spiralling into madness. In Act 3 Scene 4, Hamlet 
condemns his mother for her hasty marriage, saying: “Such an act|That blurs the grace and 
blush of modesty,| Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose| From the fair forehead of an 
innocent love| And sets a blister there, makes marriage vows| As false as dicers' oaths” 
(OpenSourceShakespeare.org).  In this speech Hamlet accuses his mother of violating the 
sanctity of marriage, and love itself, by marrying so quickly after the death of her husband, 
not only to her brother in law, but to the man Hamlet suspects murdered his father. In his 
comedies, Shakespeare uses marriage as an easy, even flippant, means to resolve conflict and 
arguably sees it as a disposable remedy without depth or meaning. On the surface, 
Shakespeare’s tragedies use marriage as a means of political or emotional manipulation such 
as in Hamlet and Macbeth, but through dialogue like Hamlet’s speech above, we see the 
playwright cautioning the audience against violating the sanctity of marriage. 
 Shakespeare reveals the complexity of his opinions on marriage, not only through the action, 
but through the characters themselves. The reasons for Gertrude’s second marriage is left up to 
interpretation: She could have married Claudius out of fear of being a widow, out of lust, or out of a 
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desire to maintaining her title of Queen, either way, Gertrude married by choice.  She later 
acknowledges that “I doubt it is no other but the main:| His father’s death and our o'erhasty 
marriage.” (Act 2 Scene 2). Gertrude knows her decision to marry was the final straw for Hamlet, 
thus causing his madness. Though this choice is hardly the main point of the play, the effects of it 
have impact on a major theme: Hamlet’s supposed insanity. Were Gertrude forced into marriage by 
Claudius, she would have admitted it in the famous “closet scene” giving Hamlet, and the audience, 
greater insight, perhaps even allowing Gertrude forgiveness for the marriage; however, the text 
gives no indication that her marriage was anything but a conscious choice, doubling Hamlet’s 
feelings of betrayal. Queen Gertrude’s decision provides repercussions that expose Hamlet’s 
character, and propel the plot. 
 The concept of the female character choosing a husband based on love is more positively 
represented in Shakespeare’s comedies. Arranged marriage is a common sub-theme within 
Shakespearian plays, with the parents of the female characters trying to persuade their daughters to 
marry a particular man; yet, these female characters rarely wed the man chosen for them. In terms of 
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Egeus tries to push Hermia into marrying Demetrius, in an attempt to 
take her away from her lover Lysander, however Hermia refuses, saying “So will I grow, so live, so 
die, my lord, | Ere I will my virgin patent up |Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke | My soul 
consents not to give sovereignty.” (Act 1 Scene 1). In the end, Hermia marries the man she loves, 
defying her father’s expectations and her role as a “form in wax | By him imprinted and within his 
power |To leave the figure or disfigure...” (Act 1 Scene 1). Because of the high expectations of 
parents and society, Hermia and Lysander’s, as well as Demetrius and Helena’s, choice to marry out 
of love and not arrangement is perceived as defiance. 
 In contrast, Rosalind and Orlando’s courtship and marriage is seen as a pleasant event which 
provides romance and entertainment. Rosalind and Orlando’s choice to marry one another does not 
cause the same reaction of defiance because of the lack of expectations placed on them. Due to their 
high positions in the royal court, it would be expected that they would be promised in marriage to 
people of equal or similar birth, however no such arrangements are indicated in the text, allowing 
relationships to be made without the restriction of parental or societal expectation. Because of this, 
Rosalind and Orlando’s wedlock exalts marriage of love, not as a declaration of independence, but 
the happy result of a humorous (if unconventional) courtship. As You Like It has many subplots that 
are focused on a couple’s walk towards marriage, such as Touchstone and Audrey, and Phebe and 
Silvius, each of which showing unique perceptions of marriage. Ironically, it is the male characters 
in these subplots that are eager for marriage, with Touchstone saying in Act 3 Scene 3 “... as a wall'd 
town is more worthier than a village, so| is the forehead of a married man more honourable than the 
bare |brow of a bachelor”, presenting marriage, through comical exaggeration, as a privilege. In the 
end, the couples all marry through choice and dramatic love: “To you I give myself, for I am yours” 
(Act 5, Scene 4). 
 For every marriage there is a courtship. As with most of his comedies, Shakespeare 
revolves the plot of As You Like It around the bazaar courtships of Touchstone and Audrey, Phebe 
and Silvius, and most importantly, Rosalind and Orlando. With the dramatic readings and songs the 
characters themselves mock, Silvius’ exalted ideas of marriage, exaggerated descriptions of one’s 
lover, and Rosalind’s condemnation of artificiality, the play acts as a parody to the extreme drama of 
chivalry and romanticism, breaking the fourth wall through its blatant address of courtly love. 
 Courtly love saw its height during the Middle Ages when it originated through troubadours 
of Provence, creating the idea of a “love service” of the knights of the crusade. The idea was “the 
expression of the knightly worship of a refining ideal embodied in the person of the beloved.” 
(Brooklyn College), such expressions were done under elaborate sets of rules and codes that 
regarded acts of chivalry, grand gestures of romance, and upholding moral dignity. By the time it 
reached England, the idea of courtly love had circulated through Europe, becoming more and more 
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gentrified in its representation providing “a refined and elevated language with which to describe the 
phenomenology of love” (Brooklyn College). When the Renaissance was born, courtly love was still 
used as the main language of romantic love, however now the elaborate expressions of love and 
chivalry had begun to become an ideal of a bygone era. As much as Shakespeare satirizes it in As 
You Like It, his representation of courtly love in Midsummer Night’s Dream is much more 
respectful, if mildly playful, of the theme, pairing the common presence of faeries and magic in 
medieval literature, with courtly love to create an enchanted atmosphere. “No serious issue mars the 
comic atmosphere as we see the humorous side of love in. [this] play” (Cherry). In Hamlet, the 
courtship of Gertrude and Claudius is never mentioned or even referred to, further highlighting the 
unconventionality of their marriage and perhaps even implying that the lack of a necessary courtship 
is a major component in its suspicious dysfunctionality. Shakespeare presents that after every 
courtship is a happy marriage, and the lack of the proper use of courtly love foreshadows tragedy 
and darker secrets. 
 Shakespeare is enigmatic at best and self-contradictory at worst in his representations of 
marriage. Yet under close observation, we see that perhaps his presentation of it is closer to life than 
we think. Just as the stability of the marriage is dependent on the people within it, so his characters 
and the atmosphere of their world dictate the state of the marriage.  Shakespeare’s representations, 
enigmatic though they seem, do have a common thread. Despite his custom of using marriage as 
comedic closure, he represents it as an institution for healing and reconciliation. Even within the 
toxic confines of a tragic marriage, Shakespeare uses that dysfunction as an example of what 
happens when the sanctity of marriage is violated and the importance of courtship is disregarded. 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
“William Shakespeare - Lisa Jardine (essay date 1991)” Shakespearean Criticism Ed. Michael 
LaBlanc. Vol. 80. Gale Cengage 2004 8 May, 2017 
“William Shakespeare – Introduction” Shakespearean Criticism Ed. Michael LaBlanc. Vol. 80. Gale 
Cengage 2004 8 May, 2017 
“As You Like It (1599).” As You Like It :|: Open Source Shakespeare. George Mason University, 
2003-2017. Web. 08 May 2017 
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595).” A Midsummer Night’s Dream:|: Open Source Shakespeare, 
George Mason University, 2003-2017. Web. 08 May 2017 
“The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark:|: Open 
Source Shakespeare. George Mason University, n.d. Web. 09 May 2017 
Cherry, Douglas Henry. “The Courtly Love Theme in Shakespeare’s Plays.” T. University of British 
Columbia, 1952. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, 1919-2007. 8 
May, 2017 
“William Shakespeare - Lisa Hopkins (essay date 1998)” Shakespearean Criticism Ed. Michael 
LaBlanc. Vol. 80. Gale Cengage 2004 8 May, 2017 
 
 
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Lovely Weather for a Wedding Marriage in Shakespeare Plays

Scheleski, Heidi

ESSAI
Volume 15 Article 32
Spring 2017
Station to Freedom or Illegal Secrecy
Heidi Scheleski
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Scheleski, Heidi (2017) "Station to Freedom or Illegal Secrecy," ESSAI: Vol. 15 , Article 32.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/32
108 
Station to Freedom or Illegal Secrecy 
 
by Heidi Scheleski 
 
(English 1102) 
 
 
 
ow in modern day, Illinois is often thought of as cornfields that contain only one place 
worthy of mention: Chicago. But back when it became a state in 1818, there was a hint 
of promise to the air. Fast forward even a few decades, the middle of the century, and 
Illinois was viewed as one more step closer to freedom. Or rather, one more station closer to 
freedom would be a little more appropriate. It is not often mentioned, but this state was a 
strikingly accurate example of the country's state of mind at that point in history: the upheaval of 
old society, the conflict that arose between them and those moving toward a new one. Part of 
this conflict resulted in the Underground Railroad, which had stations in Illinois. That is right, 
Harriet Tubman was not the only person involved. The danger of participating, the dirty 
conscience of those who believed in anti-slavery life who did not, the joy that resulted from 
finally abolishing bondage: this all truly happened in Illinois too. If the old society of southern 
Illinois had won, if these hidden pathways had not been successful, the country too would be 
socially unacceptable due to its separation in clinging to the past and not embracing an all-
encompassing future. 
Just like many other bordering states between the north and the south in the United 
States of America during the early to mid-19th century, Illinois faced contradictions in both its 
state and its nation in terms of politics and social climate. Multitudes of farmers in surrounding 
southern states such as Missouri and Kentucky migrated to Illinois for its fertile land (Harris 
227). They brought with them their pro-slavery ideology. Thus, the Illinois residents eventually 
split into two distinctive ideals: Confederacy empathizers and abolitionists. Geographically, this 
is simple. Those who favored the ideals of the south were mostly concentrated below 
Springfield and those who gradually grew towards the ideals of abolitionism were above. This is 
a matter that it not to be seen in black and white, nor necessarily in terms of geography. The 
Underground Railroad that made its path in the state shows how this is an unclean cut. For it to 
work, there were undoubtedly abolitionists in the south. 
To understand this concept, it must be understood that few accounts may be deemed 
truly accurate. For eventually, when the Union would win the war, people who may not have 
sided with them prior wanted credit and recognition in its glory. The Underground Railroad was 
covered up throughout the years so as to not leave a traceable trail, and thus there are seldom 
any verified accounts of the experience in Illinois. In historian Glennette Tilley Turner's The 
Underground Railroad in DuPage County, Illinois, she offers created trails and some accounts 
that have led to whatever evidence that can be assessed as the most accurate, but she also details 
these exact sentiments of authentication (7). 
With historical accounts and the analysis by these historians, the atmosphere of the time 
can be collectively explained. In the History of Negro Servitude in Illinois by Norman Dwight 
Harris, it is explained that the presence of [any person of color] had continually been a source of 
discomfort to those in Illinois, particularly those below Springfield (228). Of course, being 
farmers and traders with their Southern neighbors was imperative business (Harris 241). In the 
eyes of these people, the social climate was irrelevant to their society. Whether slavery was 
abolished or not was irrelevant to their existence.  If anything, these folks were pro-slavery, and 
the most that came of this was irritation. The non-Illinois southern slave owners that would 
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travel up north attempting to retrieve their “property”, as well as the "free Negros" who caused 
friction in the economy, were the bane of their existence. 
Actually these slave owners who traveled into Illinois primarily on the hunt for their 
“property” became a nuisance to both Confederacy empathizers and abolitionists in Illinois. 
Author of The Valley of Shadows, Francis Grierson, was just a boy living in the Illinois prairie 
when his parents were participating in the Underground Railroad themselves. They were more of 
an emergency stop if needed, but they always assisted local stations and neighbors in their efforts 
regardless. Grierson accounts, in meticulous detail, a night in which thick-accented southerners 
were hunting down their slaves, a few in a large group that the Griersons had momentarily 
assisted in moving on to the next stations for safety (Grierson 98-105). Luckily for the slaves, 
Grierson's father was an intimidating man with a shotgun, but the overarching issue is the 
intense amount of violence and terror these laws and ideals had imposed on people throughout 
Illinois, and the rest of the country. 
Unfortunately for the southerners in Illinois, all of those in the area of Naperville and 
above were gradually convinced of abolitionism. Norman Dwight Harris also acknowledged that 
there were "strong abolition centers in the North," (232-233). Over the course of the Civil War 
there had been this reinforcing mindset and the interest of dissolving slavery, but these centers are 
coincidentally also about the known Underground Railroad stations in the north. As stated prior, 
the abolitionists were sneaky in avoiding a noticeable trail. In fact, very few artifacts or evidence 
have been left so that even experienced historians, such as Glennette Tilley Turner, can only 
speculate on most of their original locations. She discusses the stops that follow the Illinois River 
and most lines which were aimed to reach Chicago to head further north (Turner 14-22). 
Of course, as far as many of the southerners of Illinois were concerned, there was no such 
thing as the Underground Railroad in their state. They wanted no ties with this secret railroad 
system due to its consequences. In the Compromise of 1850, there was a Fugitive Slave Act 
passed, which was quite controversial for its time. It resulted in large fines of one thousand 
dollars, a significant amount at that time, if involved and that involvement could result in paying 
the entire value of the slave. Those assisting the slaves could have also been imprisoned for six 
months. And these were just the terms that involved the "federal agent(s)" who assisted; the 
slaves were given no representation, no defense, no trial by jury, and returned immediately to 
their owners (Turner 10-11). There was too much to risk in the minds of much of these 
southerners: their livelihood, reputation, business. It was easier to sympathize with the 
Confederacy. 
In Escape Betwixt Two Suns by Carol Pirtle, there is mention of more legalities passed 
that changed lives for slaves. Early in Illinois history, Black Code happened to be one that did 
nothing of the sort. It was implemented in 1819, which was put in place to see that fairer 
accommodations were given to slaves. It was never truly enforced (Pirtle 8). Just as the 
southerners chose, northerners at the time did not want to metaphorically rock the boat when on the 
verge of a civil war. They allowed this treatment, but eventually retaliated in form of 
participation in the Underground Railroad. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 encouraged the 
urgency of such an endeavor to continue (Turner 11). Things became a little tricky in later years 
for those conducting, as representative John A. Logan pushed for the Act of 1853, which led to 
fined crime if any person of color was brought into the state (Pirtle 109). As Norman Dwight 
Harris also pointed out, this act was soon deemed unconstitutional (Harris 236). Still, southern 
Illinois was no place safe for any person of color, and even near and in Chicago was a difficult 
situation. 
Matt McCall of the Chicago Tribune does discuss and account for more of the situation in 
Chicago, at least with how the abolitionist's point of view goes. The account is that of both John 
Ton and Cornelius Kuyper, recorded by historian George Brennan in 1923. These "new" 
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Americans were settled in the south-side of Chicago, and were two stops on the railroad leading to 
Detroit. Kuyper would be first, hiding slaves in his cellar and barn, denying any known 
whereabouts if the master(s) would come looking, and would even feed the refugees if he could.  
He would conceal them under corn in his wagon and swiftly bring them over to the Ton farm, the 
next stop on the railroad, in which Ton would take them three blocks to the Hohman Bridge in 
Hammond where another man would take them to the stop in the Indiana Dunes. These men and 
their families knew the risks, but they "believed in absolute freedom for all," (McCall). 
This was a common belief for abolitionists. They saw slaves as people, whereas those 
who sided with the Confederacy mainly understood the view of slaves as property. Others simply 
concerned it with a legal matter, something that was not to be toyed with due to its repercussions. 
It was accepted that there were stations in Illinois, primarily those in Chicago and up north. For 
well over 30 years, this Underground Railroad in the Midwest was alive until it no longer 
required service: The Union had won in 1865 and slavery was, well, history so to speak.  Another 
Chicago Tribune writer, Ron Grossman, in “Exodus to Freedom”, brings the modern irony of 
moving north after the war to life. There was the Great Migration-in which 5 million blacks 
moved north to start anew between 1940 and 1970, but well before then they had been coming 
to Chicago for opportunity. Spurts of a past prejudice had continued throughout the years. The 
riot in 1919 distinguished the “imaginary but deadly real boundaries” of the social classes and 
races, the Great Depression slowing migration that picked up again with World War II, and from 
then on leaving these migraters in the lowest fields of employment and opportunity that could be 
offered. To this day, there is an imbalance in these classes and these races, perhaps not as 
prominently as it had been less than a century after the Civil War (Grossman). 
Although the Underground Railroad was an illegal task, it was an honorable one. Although 
the social climate in Illinois in the 19th century has only changed minimally and gradually, it is on a 
positive path. People are people, they are not property. Even those in southern Illinois had come to 
terms with this perspective eventually.  Change may be slow, but the steps to endorse it are 
imperative, which is why the Underground Railroad was necessary in Illinois. Even today, it is clear 
that Chicago is still facing the racial inequality that had plagued the state before. It is in this 
awareness that the people of the city need to begin more steps yet again to overcome them. Part of 
this inequality was seen in the American Civil War, where there was a major issue with unity versus 
separation, just as Illinois had branched off into two mindsets. Inevitably, they had come to the same 
conclusion: that unity is the primary goal. As Carol Pirtle states in her book about the history of 
slavery and its effects after the war, "It is a legacy of shame that haunts men and women of 
conscience" (110). The American people have to live with the ugly pieces of their country's history, 
but for what it is worth, perhaps some of those who have unrecorded accounts on their participation 
in the Illinois Underground Railroad can sleep soundly in their graves yet. 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Grierson, Francis. The Valley of ‘Shadows, The Coming of ‘the Civil War in Lincoln’s Midwest: A 
Contemporary Account. Edited by Bernardo DeVoto, New York, NY, Harper & Row, 1996. 
• Primary. First-hand account of abolitionist point of view, as well as that of those 
who conducted on the Underground Railroad. 
 
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Grossman, Ron. “Exodus to Freedom Southern Blacks Found Haven Here.” The Chicago Tribune, 
12 Feb. 1995. ProQuest, 
search.proquest.com.cod.idm.oclc.org/chicagotribune/docview/283952417/5ED5F870E0
2148A8PQ/6?accountid=10202.  Accessed 5 Apr. 2017. 
• Secondary. Timeline-like progression of after the civil war, life in Chicago for those 
who migrated and what it was like moving into a city with still-present racial issues 
Harris, Norman Dwight. The History of Negro Servitude in Illinois and of the Slavery Agitation in 
That State, 1719-1864. Chicago, IL, A.C. McClurg & Co., 1904. 
• Secondary with Primary. Records accounts of southern farmers in Illinois, legalities 
(laws etc.) 
McCall, Matt. “South Suburbs Were Gateway for Ex-Slaves: ‘Railroad’ Network Ran through 
Illinois to Detroit, Canada.” The Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2017. ProQuest, 
search.proquest.com.cod.idm.oclc.org/chicagotribune/docview/1871924683/7E8860E 
DBCC04ED5PQ/1 ?accountid=10202.  Accessed 5 Apr. 2017. 
• Secondary containing Primary.  Important for abolitionist view 
Pirtle, Carol. Escape Betwixt Two Suns: a True Tale of the Underground Railroad in Illinois. 
Carbondale, IL, Southern Illinois University Press, 2000. 
• Secondary containing Primary. Many names of those in office and the laws 
enforced discussed. Does account for some of the passengers on the railroad 
Turner, Glennette Tilley. The Underground Railroad in DuPage County, Illinois. Wheaton, IL, 
Newman Educational Publishers, 1986. 
• Secondary. Historian with lots of backed up records and info on locations and 
authentications of the railroad in Illinois 
 
 
 
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Station to Freedom or Illegal Secrecy

Selenica, Anisa

ESSAI
Volume 15 Article 33
Spring 2017
Alfred Hitchcock: An Auteur Director
Anisa Selenica
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Selenica, Anisa (2017) "Alfred Hitchcock: An Auteur Director," ESSAI: Vol. 15 , Article 33.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/33
112 
Alfred Hitchcock: An Auteur Director 
 
by Anisa Selenica 
 
(Motion Picture Television 1113) 
 
 
 
ights, camera, and action! The audience never realizes how much thinking can go into a film 
and wonder how it is considered a classic. More specifically, film directors give an incredible 
amount of effort and thought through theme and style that can be seen in almost every one of 
their films. In particular, the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, would come to be one of the most 
noble auteur directors that film history has to offer. He has displayed themes such as voyeurism, 
birds, and identity mistake and distinctive technical styles through the camera, actors, and lighting. 
Hitchcock’s masterpieces have been a symbol of art form and his unique style has inspired and 
transitioned into other films today. 
 Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in London on August 13, 1899. He went to Jesuits Saint 
Ignatius college, which had sparked his interests in engineering and navigation. At the age of 19, he 
manufactured electric cables at the Henley Telegraph company. At night, he began studying art at the 
University of London and was transferred to design ads for Henley’s advertising department. 
Hitchcock became interested in cinema when he submitted a portfolio of title designs to accompany 
the silent films of Famous Players-Lasky. He married screenwriter and editor, Alma Reville, in 1926 
and they stayed together until his death in 1980. They had one daughter together named Patricia 
Hitchcock (Spoto 3). Starting in the Silent film era, Hitchcock was exploring the elements of movie 
making and creating classic silent films. In 1939, Alfred Hitchcock left England for Hollywood. A 
year later he made his first Hollywood film, Rebecca (1940), and won an Academy Award for Best 
Picture (“Alfred Hitchcock”). As the years went on, came out with great classics such as Vertigo 
(1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963). 
The motion picture industry was just starting up and creative cinematic geniuses were just 
beginning to expand their minds to create memorable films. Most innovations and film movements 
played a big part in the director’s life. He was influenced by the traits of German Expressionism, 
worked with the elements of film noir, and witnessed the creation of sound in films (Huaco 60). 
According to the article, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of a Film Culture, Hitchcock started 
directing and co-directing about a dozen silent films in England. The Lodger (1926) would be 
considered the first real Hitchcock film. He introduces the theme of an innocent man caught up in 
events beyond his control and the use of beautiful icy blondes. In fact, the invention of sound opened 
up the opportunity of dialogue and sound effects. In 1929, Hitchcock produced the first British sound 
film titled Blackmail. The beginning is completely silent because it was a way to get the audience to 
follow the story before the characters start to speak. He took it a step further by adding sound effects 
such as a knife stab and car horns honking throughout the movie. During the 1930s, Alfred 
Hitchcock was producing well-constructed films such as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), 
Sabotage (1936), The Lady Vanishes (1938), and The 39 Steps (1935). This gave him a good 
reputation for being one of the greatest British directors during his time (Sinyard 26). After winning 
an Academy Award for Rebecca (1940), Hitchcock produced films using the noir style. The films 
were Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), and Strangers on a Train (1951); however, they 
were not really considered to be a true film noir style (Sinyard 66). The early 1930s and 1940s were 
just the start for Hitchcock and it wasn’t until a decade later that he would be coming out with many 
iconic films. 
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There is one term that makes us look at films in a different way: auteur theory was developed 
in the 1940’s by French critics, Andre Bazin and Roger Leenhardt. The word auteur means author in 
French. Auteur theory means that the director is the most important person involved in the creation of 
a film (Dixon 187). Directors have a very distinctive visual signature like how they work the camera, 
edit the film, and demonstrate thematic motifs. Hitchcock is nobley known to be one of the greatest 
auteurs of all time having strong themes and stylistic devices that makes the audience enjoy the film 
even more (Spoto 85). Author Neil Sinyard, in his book, The Films of Alfred Hitchcock, explained 
one of Hitchcock’s recurring themes of identity mistake. In North by Northwest, the protagonist, 
Roger Thornhill, is mistaken for a CIA agent named George Kaplan who is working against foreign 
spies named George Kaplin. Identity mistake was the center of the film and showed an ‘average joe’ 
can be put into situations beyond belief. This theme is played out in Vertigo, involving Scottie 
Ferguson’s investigation of the fake Madeleine Elster and the woman who impersonated her. In his 
earlier film, Shadow of a Doubt, Uncle Charlie is the real ‘merry widow’ murderer, but the police 
ended up blaming a man in another state. 
Because Hitchcock’s goal is to make the audience grasp emotion from the characters, the 
theme voyeurism plays a crucial role in his films. For instance, in the beginning of Psycho we peek 
into Marion’s rendezvous with her boyfriend, Sam. While later in the film, we see Norman Bates 
looking through a peephole as Marion is undressing in the hotel room (Spoto 335). The audience is 
playing the role as the intruder in the character’s lives which can determine how we feel, what we 
assume about the character, and what might their occupation may be. For example, in Rear Window, 
we see Jeff, the protagonist, with his broken leg and a camera surrounded with photos. The viewers 
can assume he’s a photographer and continue to look into the character’s life (Spoto 237). Just by 
using visuals, Hitchcock helps tell the story and makes an interesting situation so the audience can 
look for trivial details. 
The motifs in his films are a major detail in his work. More specifically, we will usually see 
stairways, mothers, and birds. First, stairways were influenced by German Expressionism because 
they give an uneasy feeling and it was a way for Hitchcock to create suspense (Huaco 60). Neil 
Sinyard goes on to explain that in Vertigo; the stairs in the church bell tower are crucial to the plot. 
As for the movie in Shadow of a Doubt, Uncle Charlie tries to kill his niece by removing one step 
causing the staircase to collapse. In Psycho, inside the Bates’ mansion, the staircase leading to Mrs. 
Bates room is where Detective Arbogast was murdered. 
Next, mothers are protrayed as domineering and intrusive rather than loving and caring. The 
film Notorious, shows Nazi conspirator, Alexander Sebastian, in fear of his mother who forces him 
to slowly poison his wife, Alicia Huberman. Alicia is an anti-Nazi spy for the United States and as a 
result, he does almost kill her. Similarly, Psycho revolves around this theme of ‘mama’s boy’. In this 
case, Norman Bates loves his mother; he listens to her, sometimes argues with her, and eventually 
becomes her. Mothers play a key role in Hitchcock films and set a driving force for male characters. 
Lastly, birds are frequently used throughout almost all of his films. They have been a symbol 
of bad luck since the Middle Ages. Victorian art and poetry have made them symbols of disharmony. 
For instance, in Psycho, the protagonist, Marion Crane, is named after a bird and lives in an area also 
named after a bird (Phoenix, Arizona). At the Bates motel, Norman and Marion are conversing 
during dinner and Norman mentions his fetish about birds he comments that she eats like one 
(Sinyard 113). In the film, The Birds, the plot revolves around birds attacking everyone (Sinyard 
117). Another example, is the film Sabotage, the bomb is made in the bird shop and the instructions 
for the bomb are on the base of the bird cage (Spoto 55). These motifs are also for the audience to 
interpret them in any way they want, but ideally, they mean something to the director and his films. 
Gifted with great storytelling, Hitchcock’s style was very influential and had noticeable 
trademarks in his films. According to the book, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His 
Motion Pictures, the author, Donald Spoto, states that one of Hitchcock’s screenwriters, Angus 
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MacPhail, created the term MacGuffin which stands for a detail or an object that is a desire and 
motivates the actions of characters within the story. However, the object alone is not important to the 
viewer of the film. This idea of a MacGuffin can be seen in North by Northwest with the art statue 
that contains the government secret microfilm, in Psycho with the $400,000 in the envelope, in 
Notorious with the radioactive material found in the wine bottles, and in Blackmail with the woman’s 
gloves found at the crime scene.  The style was used as a way to move the story along. 
Hitchcock creates this ultra-realism to heighten emotion, especially through a musical score. 
Spoto says Hitchcock hired composer Bernard Herrmann for his movies. Herrmann created iconic 
scores for classics like Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Psycho. 
The way he composes his music is very memorable because of the fast pace and intense 
instrumentations. His musical score has the intention to make you recall the scene in which the music 
was playing. For instance, the famous shower scene in Psycho. Hitchcock loved using beautiful icy 
blonde heroines like Tippi Hedren, Janet Leigh, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, and Kim Novak. The 
characters they have portrayed are very likable with a hidden red-hot inner fire personality. Similarly, 
an auteur usually uses some of the same actors and actresses in multiple films. For example, Cary 
Grant, James Stewart, Leo G. Carroll, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, and Clare Greet. Hitchcock 
himself makes appearances in all his films. He is usually in the beginning of the film because he did 
not want to distract the audience from the story. 
The camera is the director’s biggest priority. It becomes like a person roaming around a room 
looking for suspicious stuff. The director uses all different types of camera shots and angles. High 
angles usually mean danger and shock is about to occur. For instance, North by Northwest, the 
camera shows the dangerous situation the character is in, as it shares the view from a great height. 
Like when Roger Thornhill is running to a cab after Mr. Townsend was killed in the U.N. building 
(Sinyard 103). Hitchcock also uses the unique birds eye view as the scene is being viewed through 
the eyes of a bird which relates to his theme of birds that represent bad luck. Psycho used it when 
Mrs. Bates bolts out of the room with her knife and kills Detective Arbogast as he was walking up 
the stairs (Sinyard 115). The position of Hitchcock’s camera transfers the audience in the scene and 
shares new perspectives. 
Another technique that Hitchcock uses to exemplify his style and theme is lighting. The 
lighting in his films is extremely crucial because it represents themes such as good vs evil. In North 
by Northwest, Roger meets a spy named, Phillip Vandamm, and as he’s talking to Roger, he is placed 
in the dark shadows of a room and Roger is positioned in the lighter part. This element foreshadows 
the theme and style used in his films. In The Birds, the birds eye view drives the ferocious intensity 
of bird attacks after the gas station explosion. We watch the fire unfold as the birds swoop in from 
off-camera to celebrate victory (Sinyard 104). His editing in films show a different point of view shot 
when he cuts back and forth from the main character to an object repeatedly. For example, in Rear 
Window, he will show an objective shot of Jeff when he looks out the window at one of his 
neighbors. Then, he will switch to the subjective point-of-view shot, showing us the character's 
perception of what he sees out the window. Lastly, Hitchcock will switch back to an objective view 
of the character, so that we may see their reaction to what they have just witnessed. He has a bold 
and effective montage editing from his famous Psycho shower scene where Marion gets stabbed by 
Mrs. Bates. However, the knife never enters her body, but the way it is edited in rapid clips makes it 
unbearable to watch and fools the audience into believing that she was stabbed (Sinyard 114). 
Similarly, in The Birds, when Melanie Daniels is in the attic, birds swarm in to attack her (Sinyard 
121). It is daunting and frightful for the viewers to see, but it is a key style to his magnificent movies. 
In conclusion, Alfred Hitchcock had created many suspenseful masterpieces, sometimes 
within one year. He has combined early film elements with his new form of style and theme. The 
symbolistic films have been held to high standard among film artists. Throughout his films, he shows 
this idea of auteur theory and created a wonderful meaning in film history. This theory helped inspire 
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recent filmmakers to learn to create their own unique style and theme.  
 
 
  
 
Citations 
 
1. Spoto, Donald. The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures. New York: 
Hopkinson and Blake, 1976. Print. 
2. Sinyard, Neil. The Films of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Gallery, 1986. Print. 
3. Silet, Charles L. P. “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of a Film Culture.” N.p., Sept. 1998. 
Web. 16 Nov. 2016. 
4. “Alfred Hitchcock.” So The Theory Goes. N.p., 06 Apr. 2016. Web. Nov.-Dec. 2016. 
5. Dixon, Wheeler W., and Gwendolyn Foster Audrey. A Short History of Film. New 
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2013. Print. 
6. Huaco, George A. The Sociology of Film Art. New York: Basic, 1965. Print. 
 
 
 
 
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Alfred Hitchcock: An Auteur Director

Ulch, Charlie

ESSAI
Volume 15 Article 36
Spring 2017
Nihilist Girl
Charlie Ulch
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Ulch, Charlie (2017) "Nihilist Girl," ESSAI: Vol. 15 , Article 36.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/36
124 
Nihilist Girl 
 
by Charlie Ulch 
 
(History 2225) 
 
 
 
he book, Nihilist Girl, was originally written by Sofya Kovelevskay who lived from 1850 to 
1891. This also coincided with the with the Reign of Alexander the II who brought some of 
the greatest change to Russia. At this time Russia was undergoing some of the biggest change 
it has seen in its history at the hands of Alexander II who took the throne just five years after 
Kovalevskaya’s birth. Also during this Kovalevskaya’s time some of the most notorious acts of 
terrorism took place which she was certainly not oblivious too. By studying the key events in the 
lives of Vera Barontsova and two main characters lives we can see that this book is not just any 
fictional short story. It can actually be used as a profile for the lives of revolutionary nihilists of the 
time. 
 When we look at the time period in which they were living which shows how the path to 
revolution started. The character of Vera Barantsova was growing up in a time known as “The Era of 
Great Reforms” during which we see a series of events that allow for the development of a 
revolutionary population. 
 The first examples of this in the book can be found when the serfs were freed in 1861. 
Barantsova’s family started to lose money and had to fire their servants, one of which was her tutor 
leaving her without a whole lot of education and a lot of free time. In Nihilist Girl it says that “Vera 
was left entirely to her own devices… Vera spent entire days in the park on the estate... Or she ran 
around the neighboring fields and forests.”1   
 This can be viewed as an allegory for the freedom that came along with Nicholas the II’s 
reforms. These reforms gave the Russian press leeway that they had never had before which they 
used to write essays critical of the monarchy. With this newfound voice the left was able to lay the 
groundwork for dissent. To demonstrate just how much reach that these papers had, by the 1870s and 
80s they became the most widely read pieces of writing amongst the Russian elite; who were the only 
ones literate at the time”2   
 And just like the educated at the time Vera began to become drawn to the revolutionary 
mentality as a result of her new found freedom. It started slowly though with her becoming obsessed 
with religion and the idea of the idea of martyrdom. 
 Those around Vera seemed unable to cope with the freedom and were left with nothing to do. 
According to Vera “It seemed as if people were only living to torment and nag one another. In order 
to escape the boredom and hostility she turned to the bible.”3 From there she soon began reading 
many religious textbooks. The most influential one was called The Lives of Forty Martyred Men And 
Thirty Martyred Women. After that she read a book about missionaries being burned at the stake in 
China “and from that day forward fate was decided in her own eyes. All her dreams acquired a 
specific shape and direction.”4 She became focused on the idea of dying for a greater good. 
 
 
  
1 Sofya Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl (New York: Modern Language Association, 2001), 35. 
2 Randall D. Law, Terrorism: A History (Cambridge: Polity, 2009), 75. 
3 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 36-37. 
4 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 38-39. 
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 This obsession with religion and the idea of martyrdom that Vera has draws a striking 
resemblance to the life of an actual Nihilist radical of the time named Vera Zasulich. In 1878 she 
attempted to assassinate the governor of St. Petersburg.5 In the proceeding trial, Zasulich “Recounted 
her early conversion experience as a young girl” where Christ’s “martyrdom became entwined with 
her own.” This mindset was not unique to Zasulich. Most radicals at the time shared a similar idea 
rooted in their orthodox upbringing.6 However this is just one of many building blocks for 
revolutionaries. 
 The second element that helped shape these revolutionaries is exemplified in Vasiltsev’s 
background as a liberal professor who challenged the system of aristocracy. As a result, he was 
banished by the government to his estate.7 He was now out of step with typical Russian nobility that 
wealthy individuals like him would have traditionally associated with. He was also unable to gain 
any intellectual stimulation from the population around his estate. This is reflected by the fact that at 
this time ninety percent of the peasants at this time were “uneducated and burdened.”8 leaving him 
with a profound sense of disenfranchisement which is a key component in the birth of any radical. 
 The third element is illustrated by Vasilitsev teaching Barantsova about English philosophers 
Herbert Spencer who was considered “controversial” by Russian intellectuals at the time.9 This 
shows that the Russian elite were starting looking at the rest of victorian Europe only to see that they 
were far behind in terms of common social belief and technology. 
 Vasiltsev also represents Russian thinkers of the time such as Mikhail Bakunin who laid the 
ideological groundwork for younger radicals who would adopt those principles and use them as a 
way to validate their more violent acts. This is observed in a letter from Vailtsev that Barantsova 
receives after his death that says the following, “And now, as I lay dying, I think only that you will 
be a continuation of me... I know, I feel that you will be called to do something fine and exalted. 
What I only dreamed of, you will carry out; what I only had a vague presentiment of you will 
accomplish.”10   
 Barantsova then takes these words to heart. In the final chapters of the book a group of 
political prisoners is put on trial. Fortunately, this gives them the opportunity to publicly state their 
case and In Nihilist Girl the narrator says “Political trials were a fine instrument for propaganda.”11 
This again mirrors the trial of Vera Zasulich which had been used as an opportunity to further a 
political cause. Both Barontsova and Zasulich demonstrate that they were willing to become martyrs 
for a cause based on their childhood background.12 Barantsova becomes one in the sense that she 
gives up her life by marrying one of the one of the convicts thus saving him from one of the worst 
prisons in Russia, Alekseev Revlin.13 While Zasulich did not receive the same fate and was instead 
found innocent during her trial she went in fully expecting to die. 
 
 
  
5 Ana Siljak, “The Trial of Vera Zasulich,” in Russian and Soviet History: From the Time of Troubles to the 
Collapse of the Soviet Union, eds., Steven A. Usitalo and William Benton Whisenhunt (Lanham, MD: Rowman and 
Littlefield, 2008), 147. 
6 Ana Siljak, “The Trial of Vera Zasulich,”152. 
7 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 41-42. 
8 John M. Thompson, Russia and the Soviet Union: A Historical Introduction from the Kievan State to the Present, 
7th ed. (Boulder: Westview Press, 2013), 157. 
9 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 78. 
10 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 92. 
11 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 103. 
12 Ana Siljak, “The Trial of Vera Zasulich,” 149. 
13 Kovalevskaya, Nihilist Girl, 120. 
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 Because Barantsova chose to marry this man his punishment is lightened to being banished to 
Siberia and Barantsova travels with him to Siberia thus taking the journey to radical nihilism to the 
very end and essentially ending her life as she knows it. In doing so she fulfills the requirements laid 
out by radical philosopher Sergey Nechaev in his work titled The Catechism Of The Revolutionist 
which stated that says “He is a doomed man” and “Must be prepared both to die himself and to 
destroy…”14  
 These writings were published when Kovalevskaya was nineteen years old. Which means she 
was old enough to obtain and understand them. It is quite possible that she could have used the guide 
on how to become a revolutionary as a guide for the character Vera while writing this book. 
 Through our examination of these subjects we observe that both Barantsova and Vasiltsev 
follow a path toward nihilism that in fact reflects the road that many real life, well-educated Russians 
of this time took to become leftist radicals. We come to this conclusion based on the fact that key 
plot points in the book are mirrored by the actual occurrences in late nineteenth century Russia. 
Barantsova’s freedom is representative of the freedom granted to the people which in turn allowed 
them to discover new ideas and question the tzar. This is illustrated through her tutor Vasiletsev who 
is symbolic of thinkers such as Nacheav, Bakunin, and others who provided the ideological 
groundwork and directive for the younger generation. This is demonstrated because both the 
character and the actual thinkers were well educated and spread their message the youth and urged 
that action be taken in order to change the system. We can see that this directive is followed because 
Vera Barantsova gets involved with the nihilists and becomes willing to give up her life as she knows 
it for the purpose of the revolution in the same way that real life revolutionary Vera Zasulich did. 
 Now that we see how closely this book parallels real life events we see that it is much more 
than a short story. It is a piece of social commentary and the world that is created within it can 
actually be seen as a microcosm for Russia at this time. It allows those not directly involved in the 
nihilist movement to understand how individuals become involved. It helps humanize radicals which 
allows the reader to step inside their shoes and see what led them down this path allowing the reader 
to make the journey with them. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
14 Laqueur, Walter. Voices of terror: manifestos, writings, and manuals of Al Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorists 
from around the world and throughout the ages. New York, NY: Reed Press, 2004, 71-72 
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