YOWZAH!

There have been some terrific responses thus far on the Fantomina questions: well done, guys! Looking at the length of the responses, though, you may have two fears: (a) that the first few contributors have left you nothing to say and (b) that you need to respond at similar length with a similar number of observations in order to take part in the conversation.

Let me just be clear here on the blog expectations. If you have as much to say as these initial respondents do, by all means say it! They've given us a lot to think about, which is great. But don't think that you have to write at such length to take part in the conversation--a one-sentence insight supported by a relevant quote can be a useful contribution (and is sufficient for full blog credit).

Also, keep in mind that the blog is meant to be a comfortable and informal space for writing about the course material without the performance anxiety of class discussion or graded papers. Reasonable responses can include things like questioning the question (e.g., "I don't see any oppression at all going on here"), expressions of bafflement ("I didn't really get why Fantomina disguised herself in the first place, much less how she's empowered"), or resistance to what other people are saying (e.g., "after reading Classmate X's comment, I can see how Fantomina is at fault, but she didn't really strike me that way when I was reading it"). Just be sure to ground your reflections in the text--cite a brief passage that illustrates what you're saying.

This is a wonderful start to the semester. If you haven't posted to any of the questions yet, by all means do so! There's lots more to say.