Discussion Questions 12 — Flaubert; Baudelaire; Rimbaud; Tagore; Yeats
1. Is Felicite a saint or a simple-minded servant? Or is she both? Or is she neither? Outline your perspective of her character as compared to Mme. Aubain’s. How do they differ?
2. How are women imagined and characterized in the poems you read? What attitude is implied? Is it dual or contradictory? Does Baudelaire give similar weight to the description of men? What definitions of womanliness are depicted, affirmed, or criticized in his work?
3. How are Chidam and Chandara distinct from Rama and Sita?
4. Pick a Yeat’s poem and discuss what it communicates to you and why.