JANE BENARDETE

BENARDETE--Jane

Maloney Johnson, died on Monday, May 15th at her home in Greenwich Village. Born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 6, 1930, Jane grew up in Painesville, Ohio and Rochester, New York where she attended the Columbia School. She earned her undergraduate degree in History and Literature from Radcliffe College in 1952, and earned her Ph.D. from Harvard in American Civilization in 1958. After receiving her degree, she taught both at Harvard and Northeastern University. In Cambridge, she met and married Seth Benardete in 1960. Together they had a son, Ethan Alexander and a daughter, Alexandra Emma. Seth Benardete, an eminent classicist, passed away in 2001. Jane moved to New York City in 1965 and taught at Hunter College, CUNY, until she retired as a Professor Emerita in English in 2000. She is the author of "American Realism: A Shape for Fiction" (1972), and the co-author of "Companions of Our Youth: Women's Stories from the Young Folk's Magazine, 1865-1900" (1980). In 1968, she wrote a landmark article entitled, "Huckleberry Finn and the Nature of Fiction," which is still cited frequently. She is also the author of numerous reviews and scholarly articles. After retiring from Hunter, Jane went on to teach at the New School for Social Research and at NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Her academic expertise in American literature spanned nineteenth century authors, children's literature, and women writers. Jane will be best remembered for her sense of humor, grace and style. She was both a talented scholar as well as a beloved teacher. Her accomplishments in work and home are many and remarkable. She was devoted to family, friends, Harvard, and Greenwich Village. She is survived by her two children and five grandchildren. She will be sorely missed.