Persuasion 12/1

Something of interest is the association of independence with class mobility, mostly prevalent in Vol. I of Persuasion. Characters such as William Walter Elliot and Captain Wentworth are referred to as having independence “He [William Walter Elliot] had purchased independence by uniting himself to a rich woman of inferior birth” (50) and “had he [Captain Wentworth] wished ever to see her again he need not have waited till this time…when events had been early giving him the independence which alone had been wanting” (93, both cases refer to their financial situation, having obtained their personal wealth by some action of their own not by inheritance  through blood relation. A bit curiously Elliot gains his fortune by marrying a wealthy woman, marriage more commonly the “female means” of moving class strata (daughters being unable to inherit family property).  Though neither Wentworth nor Elliot have a title of “distinguish” among the country nobility, both occupy a sphere of relative freedom from social constraints of rank (demonstrated more so by Wentworth)  and economic dependence on inheritance money that those such as the baronets are bound to.  In contrast to this others such as Charles Musgrove remain dependent on family fortune, “They were always perfectly agreed in the want of more money and a strong inclination for a handsome present from his father” (80). 

Persuasion 11/29

One thing that I can't get over so far is the pageantry that engulfs this society. I always knew that titles were important back then, but this work truly shows how complicated the relationships between everyone were! Things like your name, where you live, who you're married to, what you do (if you do) anything for a living, are still important to us today, but during this time period these things held so much weight.

The social expectations and their implications are very important as well. For example, we get an early glimpse of this when Elizabeth is wearing black ribbons as a sign of mourning, even though she isn't actually mourning. But, because the deceased is her cousin's wife, she is expected to behave and dress in a certain manner.

Austen does a good job of showing her audience how ridiculous everything is. The social satire is very well done!

Also, I think it's great that the characters are in a later part of their lives. Usually characters are young, especially if they are women. This is not the case in this work. I wonder how common this would have been during the time of publication?

Mary Shelley

I am always interested in reading letters written from the perspectives of now famous authors, but Mary Shelley's are more interesting than I anticipated. Her letters tend to gloss over the miserable things that occur in her life and emphasize what good happens, but I'm interested in the letter to Maria Gisborne on August 15th, 1822. She laments some of the horrible things that have "crushed my hopes" and recounts the "last miserable months of my disastrous life." This cathartic release of what she is truly upset about is interesting because it is reflected in The Last Man as well, specifically in the first few paragraphs.

Her lamentation about the decline of the human race in the beginning of the novel excerpt is similar to the specific letter I mentioned, on page 907 of the BA. The beginning of the excerpt calls to "black Melancholy!" and "thy Cimmerian solitude," both of which bring to light parallels between The Last Man and Shelley's life itself. Shelley lost a child in the same manner as one of the book characters, and this same sort of hopelessness that permeates The Last Man is one that is present in her letters as well, where though she is surrounded by the beautiful, natural world, she cannot help but be upset by her misfortune.

This contrast between internal misfortune and unhappiness and the beauty of the natural world is also parallelled in both pieces of work. In the letter, Shelley emphasizes the outside world and how the country outside their family home was beautiful, though she took no joy in it. In The Last Man on page 883, she discusses how the sea is beautiful and still and a wonderful color of blue, but then immediately relates that beauty to the horrors that still exist on land. The constant return to unhappiness and negativity is a common theme in both works, and is a likely result of Shelley's misfortunes in her life.

The Last Man and Percy Shelley Commentary

On page 884, Shelley references her late husband's sonnet "Translated from the Greek of Moschus." She follows the excerpt with "But my friends declared that such verses were evil augury; so in cheerful mood we left the shallow waters..." (884). I feel that this provides meaning to Percy Shelley's recent death, and perhaps the public's view of his work, which was unsatisfactory at the time. The declarations of the characters serve to deplete meaning from his poetry, and I think this reflects Mary Shelley's grief while writing The Last Man - that all of the romantic idealism of the time died with her husband, and that there was no longer a need to criticize his works, but instead to celebrate it. The novel also possesses an intense theme of hopelessness. As their boat is about to capsize, Verney understands that his "efforts to prepare [his] companions were rendered nearly futile," expressing a powerlessness that both the narrator and Shelley feel in the face of death.

In the context preceding the excerpt, we learn that Percy Shelley had an "unsavory reputation" and that Shelley worked to "redeem his public image" (881). While this work is autobiographical, I wondered if she was up to something more with her novel than just biographizing her life. The character of Adrian, who represents Percy, is described as a kind of hero: he picked Clara up from the rising water as she nearly drowned in it, and shortly after Adrian's death, Verney accounts all he had "possessed of this world's goods, of happiness, knowledge, or virtue, [he] owed to [Adrian]" (889). Mary and Percy Shelley were estranged at the point of his death, so was this romanticization of his character a result of her grief? Or was Mary Shelley's characterization of Adrian propagandistic in order to put Percy Shelley in favor to the public eye?

The Last Man

One thing that I have continually found interesting as we've traveled through authors is the personification of nature. In The Last Man, Shelley personifies nature as a woman, "In the midst of all this appalling ruin of the monuments of man's power, nature asserted her ascendancy, and shone more beauteous from the contrast" (p.883). Nature, particularly the ocean, is also given a female gender during the great storm, "and the angry mother sheltered her endangered child" (p.885). This personification reminded me of a comparison I made in our first paper between Margaret and nature in Wordsworth's the ruined cottage. I had written that the distinct difference between Margaret and her garden was that nature has no limits. Even in its cycle of growth, death, and re-growth it can surpass the creations of man. However, women are limited in their opportunities because they are not given equity to men. I found this still appropriate when our last man was reflecting on his beloved, but lost companions. It seemed to me that the speaker's memory of Clara was far less fond or flattering than Adrian's. Adrian had with, "his intellect and rare qualities, given a glory to my life, which without him it had never known" meanwhile Clara "last daughters of man" was comprised of "all those feminine and maiden virtues which poets...strove to express" (p.889). The speaker even questions whether or not he should be so sad that her life was forfeit, because he was sure she would be in misery. "But her heart was the throne of love, and the sensibility her lovely countenance expressed" set her up for a life of misery because she was a typical woman (p.889). The speaker also continues expressing how wonderful Adrian was because he found "a part of her spirit alive in her brother", her being his deceased wife, which reminded me of Wollstonecraft's idea that extraordinary women are just souls of men in female bodies. Could this be Shelley turning her mother's words around? This comparison I made in my paper for Wordsworth and that I make now still causes me to wonder why the author crafted such a woman. I wonder what the purpose is, especially considering how extraordinary Shelley and her mother before her were. Is it meant to be a subtle recognition through nature that women are vast, tumultuous and unable to be fully comprehended in their often weakened, traditional state? Are the multiple "hers" that are referenced supposed to show more varied ideas of women?

Mary Shelley and Motherhood

Upon reading Mary Shelley’s brief biography I noted that her mother’s death had a huge impact on her writing. With Shelley’s mother dying shortly after her birth a void was created in her life that is reflected in her written works, Frankenstein comes to mind. Frankenstein as many know, is about a monster that has no mother or father and is rejected by its creator. This lends to the theory that Mary Shelley has some strong feelings about growing up without a mother. From the Selected Letters, the first letter to Thomas Jefferson Hogg, definitely distinguished itself as Mary Shelley dealing with pain from past and present with the idea of her mother and motherhood itself. In a strange way Shelley is experiencing a sad reversal of her birth, instead of her mother dying and Shelley living, her child dies and she lives. In the end of the letter she says, “Will you come—you are so calm a creature & Shelley is afraid of a fever from the milk--for I am no longer a mother now.” I found this to be a strange reaction to the loss of a newborn child and the strangest statement was her saying she is no longer a mother. My response to this letter is that Shelley feels motherhood to be foreign, as she did not have a mother in childhood. The quick dismissal of the title “mother” informs the reader that she was reflecting on motherhood but feels like she is separated from it now that her newborn has passed. Did anyone else think of Mary Shelley’s childhood when they read this letter?

The Last Man

First, I feel the need to say that I did not read the context before starting chapter 29... so, of course, I was initially very confused about who was speaking, what was happening, etc.  After going back and reading the context, everything had a little more perspective.  However, I think it's interesting to think about my perception before reading the context.  I assumed the narrator was Mary Shelley--why? I'm not really sure.  But that brought into question why she was on a boat, which led me to believe this (obviously) was fictional.  Even without the context, I immediately assumed this story was inspired by a tragic event in Shelley's life.  So, when I read the context after the story, the setting and personification of the ocean became more understandable.  At the very end of chapter 30, Verney states, "To that water--cause of my woes--perhaps now to be their cure I would betake myself" (898).  This is interesting when considering a diary entry from May 14, 1824.  Shelley says, "The last man!  Yes, I may well describe that solitary being's feelings, feeling myself as the last relic of a beloved race, my companions extinct before me" (902).  This clarifies the "disillusioned examination of Romanticism" brought up in the beginning context.  The "beloved race" being fellow romantic writers; perhaps Shelley felt that in losing her husband, society also lost the only other "relic" of a romantic writer.

Mary Prince: Slavery

The fact that The History of Mary Prince is written almost identical to the way in which she recites it gives the readers a better relationship with the story being narrated. Mary Prince was born into slavery and she describes this life as, "Ah, poor me! -- my tasks were never ended. Sick or well, it was work -- work -- work" (594). When she is first sent into auction the bystanders went about their lives overlooking the pain of a mother and her children who were about to be separated. Prince states, "slavery hardens the white people's hearts" (589). Slaves were seen as property where the wickedness of the masters could engulf their anger. Often the abuse that they endured had the consequence of death and even death was looked upon, "like poor Hetty I could escape from this cruel bondage and be at rest in the grave" (591). Prince explains that the reason as to why such cruel punishment was tolerable was because the people of England knew very little about it. She believed that if she told her story and those of others it would reach the good people of England and they would have the power to break their chains and give them freedom. "I cannot pass by those of my fellow-slaves-- for when I think of my own griefs, I remember theirs" (595). Prince describes her relationships with others in great detail whether it be with masters or other slaves. We sympathize with their pain. When Prince goes out to find a new master she finds it odd that Mr. D-- replies, "'that I should not be sold to any one that would treat me ill.' It was strange he should say this, when he had treated me so ill himself" (596).  There seems to be an importance of reputation among the slave masters because they never want other white people to know what truly goes on in their land.

Mary Prince and the Slave Narrative

A reader might feel fatigued by the endless descriptions of inhumanity that Prince endures throughout her narrative. Soon enough, it becomes a blur of violent, cruel sequences that are only very rarely interspersed with moments of tense reprieve. Indeed, the account is fashioned around Prince's torment.

Like other slave narratives of the time, History is meant as propaganda in service of the abolition. Its purpose is not the purpose of other literary texts. Its only intent is to sway the reader into joining the abolitionist cause, or, at the very least, to bring the inhumanity of the slave trade to light. Prince's account differs from other slave narratives in certain respects (location for one), but like Frederick Douglass' Narrative, the heart and message of History remains the same as in any other account.

Like in Cowper's "Sweet Meat", Prince's narrative (as well as other slave narratives) is meant to show not just the savageness of slavery but the dehumanization that instigates such cruelty, as well as the obliviousness on the part of the greater population that allows the slave trade to continue as it is. Prince, on being sold, is compared to a chicken being sold at market (589), and likened to cattle at an auction (590). Furthermore, she laments that "The people of England, I am sure, have never found out what is carried on there" (594). This implies that if it were known to the greater populace what slavery actually looks like, then such an institution would never be allowed to continue. Thus, the publication of Prince's account is meant solely to bring such firsthand knowledge to the public's attention for the sake of the abolitionist movement.

Mary Prince - The History of Mary Prince

A lot about the account of Prince's life struck me as interesting; primarily, the interactions that she described and bonds that she had formed with both fellow slaves and her white masters alike. The life of Prince (and most slaves, I imagine) was formed in terms of bonds broken, attachments made, that were eventually torn. Furthermore, the bonds forged among slaves reflected the views that white people held of them, as is evident when Prince's mother refers to her children as piccaninnies, a derogatory term applied to black children, and obviously reflective of white influence. There is a clear distinction between the distress felt by Prince and that felt by Miss Betsey upon learning of their eventual separation. Miss Betsey reacts to the separation with indignation at losing her slaves, "You are my slaves," whereas, Prince earnestly laments the separation from Miss Betsey... but even this attachment was built upon the foundations of subjugation, as Miss Betsey had referred to Prince and the other slave playmates as "her little negroes." Miss Betsey is sad to lose her "belongings," whereas, the slaves are distraught at losing their mothers, daughters, brothers/sisters, etc. Meanwhile, Betsey doesn't do so much as acknowledge the brutality of a family being separated in such a way. 

Prince is forced to form bonds with the infants that she nurses, only to have those broken, as well.

The feeling that there was a charade being propagated by white people reverberated throughout the account, beginning around the time that Prince and her sisters were being separated from their mother, and she is weeping in the middle of the street, as the white people express indifferent pity. The letter that Mr. D wrote to Prince's new master requesting that she not be treated ill was perplexing to Prince, but reflects further this facade that the slave-owning community was attempting to pretend was the reality, considering the magnitude of Mr. D's cruelty towards her. I found it interesting that the slave-owners also attempted to quell any sense of spirit being attained by their slaves. Access to God and religion were at the least discouraged, and punishment for disobeying could be severe. 

 

The History of Mary Prince

While reading Mary Prince’s  narration, I was reminded of Cowper’s poem that we read on Tuesday. The style of these two works are obviously very different but the idea that people in Britain don’t know what really goes on and if they did they would be appalled in present in both works. She writes “I think it is my duty to relate; for few people in England know what slavery is…and I would have all the good people in England to know it too, that they may break our chains, and set us free” (594). This work, like Cowper’s poem, also addresses the idea that slavery hardens people and in a way makes people lose their own humanity. The inhumane treatment that Mary Prince suffered herself and the descriptions of the suffering of other slaves shows this hardening of the people directly interacting with slavery. I also think it’s suggestive that the people who ignore the problem in England and the people who believe that the slaves are happy and they “do not need better better usage, and do not want to be free” are just as guilty as the men and women actually committing the inhumane acts (601). I found Mary Prince’s continual mention of religion interesting. Prince writes that the people who go to the west indies “forget God and all feeling of shame” (601).  This condemnation and her multiple mentions of her own strong faith and desire to practice her religion is important. This is important because it shows that she has a better understanding of Christianity than the white people controlling her. I think this highlights how ridiculous it is that people who called themselves Christians could participate or allow the inhumane actions and behaviors towards another human being.

Humanity

It seems interesting that Prince was able to live relatively well for the first years of her life. Unlike many of her counterparts she started her life working in homes that were better to them than what most in her situation experienced. These are the slave owners that we don't hear much about, likely because they seemed to be very few and far between. It is in these women that we see a glimpse of humanity, of compassion. While, in some ways, this could be called luck, it quite possibly made it even harder to deal with such a drastic change when she is sold to one cruel person after another. The people she is owned by later on are perfect examples of the typical slave owner. Cruel, compassionless, and hardened to the plights of slaves. In Mary's words, "...slavery hardens white people's hearts towards the blacks; and many of them were not slow to make their remarks upon us aloud, without regard to our grief..." (590).

Barbauld's use of personification

Anna Barbauld's "Epistle to William Wilberforce, Esq., on the Rejection of the Bill for Abolishing the Slave Trade" begins with a lamentation of the sinful practice of the slave trade and the affect upon the morality of a country who continues its injustices. Barbauld expresses this immediately in line 2 when she states "Thy country knows the sin, and stands the shame!" She calls into question the convictions of the entire nation who claim to be furthering justice and equality, while in practice, they were furthering the very despotism they condemned in the political environment of the "civilized world." Barbauld uses the personification of pity, conscience, Mercy, and Freedom in the first half of her critique to illuminate the ignorance of a continued practice of slavery. By doing so, she questions the intelligence of any person who condones slavery and tactfully undermines the validity of its economic prominence. She continues to question the intellect of the pro-slavery movement in line 20 with more personification, "In vain, to thy white standard gathering round, Wit Worth and Parts and Eloquence are found:" She then shifts her argument from slavery as a mindless practice furthered only by greed, to a question of the morality of such a practice. "The artful gloss, that moral sense confounds" is another clever method with which Barbauld critiques the defenders of the slave trade. She is arguing that ignoring the immorality of such a barbaric enterprise does not wash clean the hands that further it's injustices. In conclusion, Barbauld's rhetoric is a masterful use of the personification of moral and intellectual properties to reveal the ignorance wielded by the pro-slavery defenders.

abolition of the slave trade

Image showing the stowage of slaves under the "Regulated Slave Trade Act of 1788"
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Slaveshipposter.jpg
Click to blow up the image to see additional detail.

"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow": This tune became popular in the early 18th century by association with the French song "Marlborough s'en va-t-en guerre" ("Marlborough Has Left for the War"), a burlesque on the false report of the Duke of Marlborough's death at the battle of Malplaquet in 1709. Here's a recording of the tune with the French lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqRpPMOaMIA

And, as a reminder, Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments argues that:

"How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it. Of this kind is pity or compassion, the emotion which we feel for the misery of others, when we either see it, or are made to conceive it in a very lively manner."

"As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation."