happiness and anxiety

This article picked up by Arts and Letters Daily

http://chronicle.com/article/HappinessIts-Discontents/144019/

makes me think of a good angle through which to explore a novel or a play:  Are any of the characters ‘Happy’?  Are any of them ‘Anxious’? While I’m not a big fan of thematic explorations, it would be interesting (both in personal and literary terms) to have students read the essay (which a lot of people have found quite provocative) and then think about these questions.  I’m always looking for new angles with which to look at a text like Fathers and Sons or Oleanna, for example, so this one appeals to me.  And I like to gather in some things that might help students understand themselves.