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The Birth of Venus
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Plot Summary of The Birth of Venus
"All that Alessandra wants to do is be herself and paint, but she lives in a world of men and powerful religious leaders. She is forced into an unhappy marriage with a man twice her age. Her only joy in life is that her empty marriage allows her time to spend making art and with a young painter who helps her to develop her skill. "
Marie Gemma, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Birth of Venus
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - distant past/middle ages
Political/social activism Yes
Plotlet: - women fighting for rights
Inside culture (main char) - Italian
Family, struggle with Yes
Struggle with: - Husband
Struggle over - vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - Italian
If story of urban/rural... - Big city life
Main char. serviced by prostitute? Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes
Woman's story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - artist
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - Italian
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
Europe Yes
City? Yes
City: - wealthy

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - impregnation/reproduction - actual description of hetero sex - descript. of female anat. (the big B's) - descript. of female anat. (the big V) - descript. of nude males (the big P)
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Sarah Dunant Resident Scholar Profiles

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Marie Gemma  

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