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University of Michigan GSI Guidebook
Sample Lesson Plans
50-minute Comparative Literature class on Rachilde’s novel The Juggler.1
Objectives for student learning:
Students will be able to …
1. Place the novel and its protagonist within the context of Rachilde’s life and literary career.
2. Identify and analyze the “decadent” connections between Baudelaire and Rachilde.
On board:
Rachilde: Marguerite Emery Vallette (1860-1953)
“Mademoiselle Baudelaire”
Over 60 published works:
Monsieur Vénus (1884); La Jongleuse/The Juggler (1900, 1982 reprint, 1990 translation)
1. Announcements and reminders (5 minutes)
2. Introduce the novel (10 minutes)
2.1. Prompts (5 minutes):
Poll: “How many read the introduction to the novel?” “Has anyone heard of Rachilde before?”
If many students have read it:
•“What was interesting, curious, or unexpected about the author?”
•“What are some connections between Rachilde’s life and what you have seen in the novel so far?”
If just a couple or no one has read it:
•“The novel is said to be somewhat autobiographical: from reading the first fifty pages, what can you sur-
mise about Rachilde’s life?
•“Why do you think she was called ‘Mademoiselle Baudelaire’?”
2.2. Connect novel and author through a short lecture on Rachilde’s biography (5 minutes)
3. “Decadent” connections between Baudelaire and Rachilde (20 minutes)
3.1. Discussion: “What are some key images we have seen in Baudelaire’s poems that also appear in the
novel?” (list images on board; e.g. make up, costumes, hair, Creole…) (5-7 minutes)
3.2. Group activity (5 minutes):
Split class into groups of 4 or 5; assign roles: one note taker, one reporter. Assign one image to each
group and ask them to look for specific examples in the text of that image and answer the question:
“How is Rachilde using this Baudelairean image in the text? And to what effect?” (write questions on
board)
3.3. Class debrief of group work (8-10 minutes)
4. Check for understanding (10-12 minutes)
4.1. Discussion: “So how can we understand Rachilde’s nickname ‘Mademoiselle Baudelaire’? As praise,
irony, condemnation?” (If no time, ask students to write for a minute, then discuss answers next
time.)
5. Sum up main points and preview next class (the question of love in the novel) (3-5 minutes)
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1Submitted by Stiliana Milkova, CRLT
