Lesson Plan: Wives, Lies, and Social Ties

A Comparative Character Study of Women in World Literature

Materials Needed:

• Digital or physical copies of the following texts (summaries or excerpts are acceptable):
  • Marie de France's "Bisclavret" (The Werewolf)
  • A historical summary of the Martin Guerre affair, focusing on his wife, Bertrande de Rols.
  • Excerpts from Murasaki Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji" concerning the character Lady Murasaki.
• Notebook and pen, or a digital document for note-taking.
• Large sheet of paper or a whiteboard for creating a comparison chart. Alternatively, a digital tool like Google Docs or Miro.
• Access to a computer or tablet for the final creative project (optional, depending on the chosen project).

Lesson Details

Subject: English Language Arts / World Literature

Grade Level: 9th Grade (Age 14)

Time Allotment: 90 minutes for the main lesson, plus additional time for the creative project.

1. Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

• Identify the core motivations, actions, and societal constraints affecting the wife of Bisclavret, Bertrande de Rols, and Lady Murasaki.
• Analyze and Compare how each character responds to extraordinary circumstances, including love, betrayal, and social pressure.
• Create a project that demonstrates an empathetic and analytical understanding of one character’s perspective, choices, and inner world.

2. Alignment with Curriculum Standards

This lesson aligns with Common Core ELA Standards for grades 9-10, specifically:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.9: Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (examining a historical account alongside literary works).

Lesson Procedure

Part 1: The Hook - Moral Dilemma (10 minutes)

1. Opening Question: Begin with a thought-provoking scenario. "Imagine someone you love and trust reveals a secret about themselves that is shocking and frightening. It doesn't change who they've been to you, but it changes who you *thought* they were.
   • What is your first reaction: Fear? Loyalty? Betrayal? Confusion?
   • Does your obligation to protect yourself or your community outweigh your loyalty to that person?
2. Discussion: Briefly discuss the student's thoughts. Explain that today's lesson looks at three women from different times and cultures who faced similar, life-altering dilemmas.

Part 2: Character Deep Dive (30 minutes)

Review each character by reading a short summary or key excerpts together. After each one, pause to jot down initial impressions.

1. Character A: The Wife of Bisclavret (Medieval France):
   • Story Focus: Her husband reveals he is a werewolf. She is horrified and repulsed. She conspires with another knight to steal his clothes, trapping him in wolf form so she can be free of him and remarry.
   • Discussion Points: Was her reaction understandable fear or malicious betrayal? What does her severe punishment (her nose being bitten off, a trait passed to her female descendants) say about medieval views on loyalty and femininity?
2. Character B: Bertrande de Rols, Wife of Martin Guerre (16th-Century France):
   • Story Focus: Her husband, Martin Guerre, disappears for years. A man arrives claiming to be Martin, and he is so convincing that he lives with Bertrande as her husband for three years, and they have children. Was she deceived, or was she a willing participant in the lie to escape the shame and poverty of being an abandoned wife?
   • Discussion Points: What pressures did a woman in her position face? What might she have gained from accepting the impostor? What did she risk? Consider her as a pragmatic survivor.
3. Character C: Lady Murasaki (Heian Japan, c. 1000 AD):
   • Story Focus: An orphan girl taken in by the handsome Prince Genji, who raises her to become his ideal wife. Their relationship is complex—part father-daughter, part student-teacher, and eventually husband-wife. She is intelligent and graceful but lives a constrained life, often enduring Genji's many affairs with quiet dignity.
   • Discussion Points: In what ways does she have power, and in what ways is she powerless? How does she navigate the intricate rules of the imperial court? Is her quiet endurance a sign of weakness or immense strength and strategy?

Part 3: The Connection - Comparative Analysis (25 minutes)

1. Create a Chart: On a large piece of paper, whiteboard, or digital document, create a three-column chart, one for each woman.
2. Fill in the Rows: Work together to fill in the chart with the following rows, comparing the characters:
   • The "Problem": What is the central dilemma or situation she faces?
   • Societal Context: What power/freedom did a woman have in her time and place?
   • Her Action: What key decision does she make in response to her problem?
   • Her Motivation: Why did she make that choice? (e.g., Fear, Survival, Love, Ambition, Social Pressure).
   • The Consequence: What was the ultimate outcome for her?
3. Synthesize: Look at the completed chart and discuss the big picture. What's the most striking similarity between them? What's the most significant difference?

Part 4: The Creative Application - Point of View Project (15 minutes)

Explain that instead of writing a formal essay, the student will demonstrate their understanding by creatively stepping into one character's shoes. The goal is to explore the "why" behind their actions.

The Task: Choose ONE of the three women and create ONE of the following:

• A "Lost Diary Entry": Write a secret, personal diary entry from her perspective, written at a key moment in her story. It should reveal her true feelings, fears, and justifications.
• A "Courtroom Testimony": Write the speech she would give in her own defense if she were put on trial. She must explain her actions and motivations to a jury. (This works especially well for Bisclavret's wife or Bertrande).
• A Character's "Social Media Profile": Design a mock social media profile (e.g., Instagram, Facebook) for one of the characters. Include a bio, a few key "posts" with images you describe, and comments from other characters in the story. This is a great way to explore how they would present themselves to the world.

Discuss the options and help the student brainstorm ideas for their chosen project. Set a due date for the finished work.

Part 5: Wrap-Up & Reflection (10 minutes)

1. Final Discussion: Ask some concluding questions to tie everything together.
   • Which of these women do you find most sympathetic? Why?
   • Which character's situation feels most relevant to challenges people might face today, even if the circumstances are different?
   • Did this lesson change your initial opinion from the warm-up question about loyalty and betrayal?

Differentiation and Extension

• For Support: Provide pre-filled sections of the comparison chart. Offer sentence starters or a template for the creative writing project. Focus on just two of the women instead of three if needed.
• For Challenge: Encourage the student to research the historical realities of women's legal rights and social status in 12th-century France, 16th-century France, and Heian Japan. Have them write a short paragraph explaining how this context makes the characters' actions more understandable. They could also read the source texts in their entirety.

Assessment

• Formative (During the lesson): Assessed through the quality of discussion, participation in the chart-making activity, and verbal responses that show an understanding of the characters' motivations.
• Summative (End of unit): The final creative project will be assessed based on a simple rubric:
  1. Character Accuracy (1-5 pts): Does the project reflect a deep understanding of the chosen character's personality, motivations, and circumstances as presented in the text?
  2. Creativity and Effort (1-5 pts): Is the project original, thoughtful, and well-executed?
  3. Analytical Depth (1-5 pts): Does the project go beyond summary to analyze *why* the character acted as she did, showing empathy and critical thinking?