Commentary of 18th Century Female Writers

During the 18th Century (starting from 1660s era to just before the Romantic Period), several writers began composing non-fiction pieces of life writing, which consisted of (auto)biographies, spiritual autobiographies,  memoirs, etc. A number of female writers were important to this period; among them were Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Frances Burney.

Montagu (1689-1762) was in India for a part of her life, and she wrote one of the first pieces of travel writing. By the end of the 17^th Century, it was not uncommon for young men to “get culture” via a tour of Europe and/or Asia. More women did this over time, but Montagu was one of the earliest to write about it. Thi was a period when people expected letters to be passed around in a limited form of circulation. Letters often went astray, delayed, or lost in the process. To those living in foreign countries, letters were important forms of communication. Montagu paid a lot of attention in her word choice, description, and detailing of various cultures. As a result, she made travel writing interesting for many women and other writers. Despite the fact that Montagu was married, Alexander Pope wrote a number of affectionate letters complete with romantic themes and double entendres. When she writes to him,she tells him that she is not interested. Montagu is basically saying that she will not answer to certain parts of his letters, which she considers to be inappropriate. At one point, she dismisses him as being romantic and sentimental by telling him that marriage would only bring about unhappiness. His poem (which he composed for her) is implying that the possibility of  relationship is worth it, but she is making fun of his ego/pretentiousness. She responds to his with some vinegar in a classy, masterful way of rejection.

Unlike most of her peers, Frances Burney lived to a very old age (1752-1840). While a lot of her fellow writers were established poets and older, she was quite younger at the time. She wrote a great amount of novels, plays, journals, and letters on a variety of subjects which included the female experience, satirizing masculine values/ideals, etc. Specifically, her letter on getting a mastectomy after the fact was intended to be read in the family circle, so it would have been public to that extent. The text portrays the experience as being painful, horrific, and acute with sensory details. At the time, anaesthesia was not widely used, so the pain would have been almost unbearable, and the recovery period alone would be just as difficult. Any housekeeping how-to-book of the 18^th Century would have a heavy section on first aid. Since there were no hospitals back then, the average parent or housewife would have a good knowledge of basic care, but most people distrusted doctors and medical practices. Her style is very diverse, detailed, and brutally gripping in all its frankness.

Both Montagu and Burney were both important female writers of the 18th Century. While the former made travel writing interesting for women and other writers, the latter's journals and letters paint a vivid picture of life for the 18th Century female.

Biehn and Wilmot: Satirical yet Bawdy

During the 17th Century, the 1660 Restoration of Charles II marked a return of art, poetry, and ideals. John Wilmot and Aphra Behn were a few examples of poets who lived in this era. Behn (16401689) was one of the first females to make a living as a professional writer, but she died struggling to find jobs. Some called her “The Incomparable Astrea.” Wilmot (1647-1680) was the Second Earl of Rochester, and he was known for his satiric works, crude yet witty poetry, and his lifelong pursuit of passion and debauchery. The work of Wilmot and Behn can be best described as masculine, crude earthy poems versus detailed, pastoral yet explicit, respectively.

Wilmot was more crude and prone to using vulgar in his works. For example, "The Imperfect Enjoyment" is a poem of premature ejaculation; it involves a man in the throes of passion with a woman, but he is not able to perform sexually. In contrast, Behn wrote about characters with a shepherd-esque sort of name in which they spied on women in the grove. Set in a pastoral setting, it was common for love poetry. Since she is written explicitly about a near-encounter, it is where the humour consists of an earthy kind of literary style. "The Disappointment" is about passion, role-playing, and consent. It is not explicit; Behn writes of the women fleeing the man, who is condemned to impotence.  In contrast, Wilmot has the man cursing both his genitals and passions. The women is not a nymph but a fully-experienced woman who is aware of sexual activity. However, the man was too quick to contain himself and is thus humiliated.

While Behn was not as lewd as Wilmot, her poem "To The Fair Clarinda, Who Made Love To Me, Imagined More Than Woman" was the subject of controversy, because it described the relationship of two women. The speaker writes how she wishes her lover was male, because she would not be able to hide her love. To her, the female part is betraying her to the male part. At the time, sexuality and longing were quite common, but women had to describe said feelings in a subtle manner.

While the Earl of Rochester could be lewd and vulgar in his writing, Behn did explore a number of strong topics in her works that continue to be subject for review by contemporary scholars.

First Time posting and thoughts on John Locke

Hello to the blogging world!

This is my first post on Blogger, but, as cliche as it is, there is a first time for everything. Needless to say, I now understand what it means to be part of a blogging community! I am creating this blog is part of my Fall 2011 English 3204- 18th Century Poetry and Prose. Throughout the next several weeks, I will be commenting, reviewing, or analyzing the rich literary period that is the 18th Century.

For my first posting, I wish to examine an excerpt on slavery from John Locke's An Essay concerning the True Original, Extent and End of Civil Goverment (1690). Having witnessed the events of the Bloodless Revolution, Locke was very critical of and opposed to the theory of divine right. In chapter 4 of An Essay, he states that the "natural Liberty of Man" is to submit to the Law of Nature but to remain free from legislative authority of superior powers (262). Citing Sir Robert Filmer, Locke points out that every man has the liberty to do whatsover that pleases him, and no one should endure the arbitary rule of someone else. He argues Man cannot hold, grant, or take power over other human beings. Describing the practice of slavery as "between a lawful Conqueror, and a Captive", he states that a person cannot receive power over the life of another (263).

Although slavery in Britin would not be condemned until 1722, the anti-slavery movement was started by philosophers and writers, such as Locke, who supported the natural rights and liberty of man. This way of thinking marked the rise of liberal ideals in Europe during the 18th Century.