Reviewing Conduct Literature (Part 2)

For Part 2, this posting will focus specifically on Eliza Haywood's The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless, its status as conduct literature, the social mores of the 17th-18th Centuries, and Haywood's change from amatory to conduct literature. In comparison to writers such as Jane Austin, Haywood's characters get into numerous scrapes and unpleasant incidents. Furthermore, they are complex, flawed, and concerned with social rules and practices of the era. Conduct literature itself did contain many rules and restrictions for women.

The character of Betsy Thoughtless herself is a rather proud, vain, and somewhat self-absorbed, and she has a tendency to get into trouble due to her coquetry. In the first portion of the book, Betsy is nearly raped on four occasions, and her inability or unwillingness to avoid such situations indicates a certain naivety on her part. Like Haywood's Fantomina, Betsy's elders punish her by sending her away; however, the main difference is forcing her to be married instead of becoming a nun. With regard to historical context, women were looked upon as property rather than people, and many of them did not know if their husbands would turn brutal after marrying them. It would not be hard for men to get away with spousal abuse or infidelity in this era. The art of courting was a highly-ritualized practice, but it lacked intimacy and instead focused on tradition and rules. When Betsy is courted by Mr. Munden ("mundane"), he is well-meaning but lacking in sensibility, and his habit of sending her gifts does not result in her returning his love. Upon finally being married, he becomes quite unpleasant in his treatment of Betsy and means to which he intends to break her resolve (i.e- killing her pet squirrel).

The rest of the characters are interesting in their own character arcs and interaction with Betsy. Her adoptive sister Miss Flora is obsessed with ruining Betsy's reputation by plotting and scheming against her. Further adding to the irony, she engages in an affair with Mr. Trueworth, who is the object of Betsy's affection. Of all the characters, Lady Trusty is probably the voice of reason and arguably the one person who cares for the well-being of Betsy. As a giver of advice, she attempts to play a role in guiding Betsy towards young womanhood. Haywood appears to be speaking to the audience via Lady Trusty as a vessel of sorts. However, she is removed for the majority of the text, because Betsy has to experience life as it really was for young Victorian women.

While Betsy is not deceptive like Fantomina, she is a forward-thinking character with a penchant for getting into trouble without intending to do so. Regardless of her good intentions, she would be more fixated on appearing good by others rather than being good. However, she is prone to re-examining her behaviour and wonders what unmarried would be like. Given Haywood's transition from amatory fiction to conduct literature, it is possible that she intended Betsy to demonstrate her changing way of thinking. For this reason, The History of Betsy Thoughtless is important to Victorian literature, because it indicates a difficult era for women concerned with social mores and restrictions in society.

Reviewing Conduct Literature (Part 1)

During last week's presentation, I found the content and format was not only insightful but also amusing in its depicting the strict social rules and conduct literature, which dates as far back as the Middle Ages. For instance, I never realized that women eating in public was considered to be "disgusting" and impolite or that crossing their legs at the ankles or putting legs together with their backs straight were seen as the most appropriate way of sitting. Needless to say, they had it more difficult than the men, who had noticeably less norms or customs than females. However, the exploration of conduct literature was intriguing, because it showed how women were constricted in the 1800s.

John Gregory's A Father's Legacy To His Daughters is an interesting example of conduct literature, because the author never intended it to be published. In the text, he notes how men complain about the reserve of women and their alleged bad habits. For this reason, he warns his daughters (whom he meant to write the book for) against eating in public and cautioning against women who used humour. After he died, it was ionically published and put into printing. Another writer of conduct literature was Lord Lyttleton, who believed that public intoxication was sinful and that loving the husband was the women's primary goal.

One of the most famous works of conduct literature is Eliza Haywood's bildungsroman The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless. The book concerns a young woman leaving her abusive husband and experiencing life as an independent woman for the first time. Unlike Haywood's earlier Fantomina, Betsy Thoughtless does not disguise herself and pursue men for the purpose of sex. The narrative is more introspective and concerned with the question of how to present oneself as "good" to others. Although she is not deceptive or manipulating like Fantomina, Betsy allows herself to be drawn into certain situations in which she is perceived as doing something wrong. During the 17th-18th Centuries, women desired to be good in a virtuous manner, but social expectations were seen as being more important.

To be continued with Part 2.....

Women are Equals to Men, although Some of the Latter Think Otherwise

The battle between males and females has been waged for centuries, but the 17th and 18th Centuries witnessed the rise of early feminism among literary circles. One prominent example was Mary Astell, who argued that women ought to have the rigth to education. While she was not a leading crusader of women's suffrage, her views were shared by a number of male contemporaries such as Daniel DeFoe. Another major female writer was Margaret Cavendish, who was the Duchess of Newcastle and an author in her own right. These two examples are unique, because they pushed for ideas such as equal education and using females as a literary protagonist.

Mary Astell was known for her early feminist work and proposing the idea of an institution for women to be educated. In her book A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest, she suggests that women be taught separately from men and given a good education. She put forward the question of why God bestowed women with intelligence and never gave them a chance to use it. During the 17th to 18th Centuries, the only education women received was from Bible study, but they were encouraged (or rather dissuaded) not to read books. The notion of a woman reading novels was seen as "dangerous" for the possibility of giving her certain thoughts. With regard to religious context, a number of religions had dogmatic claims that viewed men and women as not being different; indeed, Quaker groups allowed females to speak at meetings. However, most denominations (Catholics, Protestants) were strict on conformity. Apart from Astell, Daniel DeFoe (Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders) was also in favour of an all-women's college in the design of a convent for nuns.

Unlike Astell, Margaret Cavendish is an interesting woman for her ability to get her work published. As the Duchess of Newcastle, she had the support of her husband, who pretty much let her do as she wished. Due to her high status, she was able to social circles of learned individuals, which was considered scandalous for women to do. Her 1666 prose fiction A Description of a New World (or The Blazing World) was significant, because it concerned a female protagonist exploring new realms and pondered themes of science. However, Cavendish was mocked and derided by others for being "mad", "different", and abnormal. Ironically, she was able to get her work published due to her supportive, financially-stable husband.

While a number of women were able to publish their work in this period (mostly under pseudonyms), Astell and Cavendish are significant for their ideals in women being educated and casting females as protagonists. Although they had a number of male writers who shared their views, there was no major feminist movements at this time. Women being educated was a hotly-contested debate and an interesting topic in history, because obtaining higher education was not seen as a universal right. Nevertheless, Astell and Cavendish were instrumental as females getting their work published.

Anti-slavery narratives: the reworking of style, narrative, and genre

During last week, I did a presentation on the abolition of slavery in Britain, and it briefly touched on anti-slavery narratives. After reading a number of said texts, I found that several writers wrote a number of pieces examining the practice of slavery, and they managed to rework a number of literary elements in the process. Aphra Behn, in particular, is significant with regard to her novel Oroonako, or, the Royal Slave.

In Aphra Behn's Oroonako, she presents the title character as a relatable person for the reader to feel sympathy for. By depicting the dreadful conditions of slavery and focusing on a black man, Apart from his ethnicity, Oroonako is described as being an attractive man. His new name of Caesar is somewhat ironic, because the ancestors of his master were dominated by Julius Caesar and the Romans. The relationship of Oroonako/Caesar and his bride is an interesting one, because the narrative places a black couple as main characters in place of regular archtypes (mostly white). However, Behn keeps the focus of Prince Oroonako to the point where he is reaping the spoils of war and other slaves treat him as if he is above them due to his stature and intellect.

Through the use of language, Behn presents the dialect and voice of Oroonako with a feeling of authenticity. In addition, the first portion of the story reads like an exotic travel narrative with its diction and description of the common struggles of the Negro slave. With regard to positioning the text, it is difficult to do so, because nobody knows what Behn thought or how she viewed the slave trade. Unlike Harriet Becker Stowe (who was inspired by real-life figures and experiences to write Uncle Tom's Cabin), Behn had no major role models or influences during the 17th Century, because she came late to literary culture. Regardless of her lack of inspiration or role model figures, Behn created a novel with a black protagonist, filled the text with authentic language/diction of African slaves, etc.

Fantomina- A Woman in Control of Her Destiny?

With regard to the Eliza Haywood story Fantomina, the depiction of the titular character has several readers and scholars questioning whether or not she is in control of her own life. Whereas she faces punishment for her affairs, the male object of her affection avoids being shamed for his actions. However, Haywood's story only serves to critique society for its harsh, judgemental, and strict treatment of those who do not adhere to 19^th Century norms.

For 19th Century audiences, the behaviour of “Fantomina” would be considered devious, scandalous, and certainly unlady-like. However, apart from her deceptive methods and affairs, she acts assertive, headstrong, and sexually-confident in her efforts to get what she wants. One such example would be her using of wearing Venetian masks (in the vein of Carnival) to the theatre, which was became more associated with prostitution over time. While she is immoral for her affairs, she is monogamous and madly in love with the man of her dreams. As the object of Fantomina's affection, Beauplasir is the oblivious, dimwitted male love interest in the manly way. He has his own series of affairs, but his womanizing is practically overlooked by society in general. While Fantomina is discovered and punished in the end, Beauplair manages to escape the consequences of his actions. Either he will be too embarrassed to tell anyone about the scandal, or he has a great story to tell his friends and laugh about.

With regards to the ending, Fantomina is shipped away to a convent by her mother, but she seems trapped in her stifling environment. Beauplasir is somewhat relieved that the daughter is being dealt with, but he promises to pay support for the child. Eliza Haywood was a career woman who pioneered the idea of female writers and suffered as a result. Is she really going to be critical of a character that does it? In reality, she is being critical towards society and its social conventions. In most stories written during this period, both the female and male characters were guilty of doing the same thing, but the man had more leeway than the woman and tended to escape punishment.  Some stories, such as Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, depict the characters as reforming and living comfortably at the end. However, we can view it as the treatment of men and women; the former is embarrassed while the other is scorned for life. Whereas Fantomina is placed in a convent, Beauplasir is humiliated by the discovery (as well as his being duped).

For these reasons, it is clear that Fantomina was in control of her own life and prone to using several methods to achieve what she wanted. Although deceptive in her actions, it cannot be denied that she was assertive, confident, and madly in love with Beaplasir. The ending is realistic in its depiction of what happened to young unmarried women who got pregnant, but Haywood is using it to criticize society in general.