Annie Besant: Proposing New Government and Law Changes

Purpose of English Republicanism

Both English Republicanism and Is the Bible Indictable? (1884) were written by Annie Besant as arguments to social problems she observed. She made her work easily accessible, charging very little. As well as being easily bought, Besant’s work was also easily understood. Her language and references were appropriate for the general public of her time. Besant’s main reason for writing English Republicanism was to urge readers to accept the inevitable, which was that England would become a Republic. She wanted to teach readers of the benefits of having a Republic while acknowledging the problems with their current situation, the Crown. Besant believed that the government in England was already very close to being a Republic, they just needed to inform the people of this so that they could rise up and be ready to take control when the throne is finally empty. She was for a nation ran by the people. By saying the people, Besant did not just main the higher class. She was for the advancement of the general public, introducing the idea that one of a Republic’s strongest assets was that it encouraged the education, in all areas including politics, of the general public. Besant believed that a Republic was the best form of government for any country, especially her England. She wanted to let the people, all the people, know and understand this form of government and she wanted them to make the decision to accept it, rather than continue to be forced to accept the government. This take on change is similar to what we have seen throughout this sphere. A change cannot be made fully until the original problem is seen. Besant furthers this thought to also include the importance in understanding the effects of the change.

Synopsis of Is The Bible Indictable? and the purpose behind it

Besant begins by introducing a court case: The case was The Queen against Bradlaugh and Besant. Sir Alexander Cockburn was the Lord Chief Justice. In a note readers learn that the case was brought upon Bradlaugh (a close friend of Besant) and Besant because they published, and refused to stop publishing, a book by Dr. Knowlton about the prevention of pregnancy. After this introduction she quickly moves into a discussion about the unfair treatment of certain books compared to others. She bring to the reader’s attention how books that are cheap and easily bought by the poor are said to be indecent and are banned, where books on similar or even the same topics go unobjected if they are priced higher and marketed for upper classes. She alludes to the fact that the law as it stands seems to say that the poor are evil minded and corrupt and should not be tempted by these indecent books, while the rich need similar writings because they are helpful and necessary. The law, Besant believes, had taken it too far. Its marks for what was to be considered indecent could in fact be found in the most celebrated of literature and reading. She mentions authors whose books, under the law, would be considered obscene; for example, Swift, Fielding, Byron, and Shakespeare.

Besant goes on to accuse The Bible, under this law, of being obscene. She spends a lot of time recounting specific places throughout The Bible that could be seen as obscene, though she is careful to never give details about why it is indecent. She is also careful to often mention the trial and her current situation throughout her scrutinization of The Bible to remind readers why this is important and avoid coming across as simply lashing out against The Bible. In fact, after all of her examples, she lets the reader know that she is in no way aimed to bring down The Bible, or any other work, she just wanted to prove to readers that the Lord Chief Justice’s new law is unfair. By bringing The Bible into her argument so heavily, she is able to propose towards the end of her writing that it may be in the best interest of Christians for them to join her side seeing as how “easily assailable” (14) their sacred book is under this new law. From there she goes on to invite the police to charge those selling the books she has pointed out as obviously being obscene, as it is according to the law, and to prosecute them all. Or, if they will not, she suggests that they drop the case against herself and Bradlaugh. She ends by saying, “...I call on those who love freedom and desire knowledge, to join with us in over-ruling by statute the new judge-made law” (15). Here, the point to her entire argument is wrapped up. She wants all books to be seen as equal, and for the people to use their sense and see that this law is unfair.

Throughout both works, I saw connections to Gilman. For example, both women wrote to benefit the entirety of society, not simply one sex or social class. Both women also seem to bring about androgynous thinking. In fact, in Besant’s work, it is never mentioned or important that she is a woman writing. The arguments stand for themselves as worthy and right. Both women also were writing during strives for women’s suffrage in their respective countries. I am curious to know what Besant would have thought about Gilman’s ideas in Politics and Warfare.

Besant source: http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/c/c-besant.html

London Lowlife and its Women.

The Contagious Diseases Act is passed by Parliament in 1864. It was an Act to wipe out venereal diseases from population, in army or navy towns. The government was tired to being down in man power because their men were getting sick from these women. Notice how it is the woman’s fault the man is sick even though it’s the man’s fault in the first place for indulging in prostitutes in the first place. We will be looking at 3 pamphlets of sorts to discuss how women responded to this act.

The three pamphlets were written by Mrs. W. T. Malleson, a woman called “Justina” and one anonymous author. One of my original questions was who are these last two people? But Alyssa answered who “Justina” was and that leaves only the anonymous as the unknown. These three people, I would assume women, are writing not only in response of the Act but also the response of a Miss Garrett. Who although we do not see her own writing is agree with the act saying that it is the Christian and morally right thing to do and I believe she even goes so far to say as it’s the woman’s’ fault for getting these diseases. And she holds only them accountable. These other authors are not agreeing with her in the slightest. They have their own ideas about the Act and what Garrett says. There are points were they are the same such as men should be brought into question as well and not only the woman. They all say that women don’t chose this lifestyle they are forced into it because they have been left by men and abused by them.

Malleson brings up the point that women need to be educated which was an idea that was spreading at this time for if women were educated then they would not need to rely on selling their bodies to have an income they could work a more respectable field. The Anonymous author agrees and believes that that if women had been better prepared for life they wouldn’t be in this situation and the diseases wouldn’t be at the level of escalation that they are in this time. Justina cuts straight to the point in believe that the entire Act is pointless and futile for women for the sake of their business and dignity are simply going to avoid registering. Which is something the other two agree with as well. The law is forced upon these women, who want no part in it and are just trying to survive.

Of course there is a lot more, but I don’t want to give everything away right now.
I guess my questions would be: who is this anonymous writer and what might their background be? What’s every other writers background as well including Miss Garrett, and Mr. Hill. And I would like to go further into the Contagious Diseases Act myself to have a further background on what they are discussing.

The Life and Writings of Nadine Gordimer

For this first phase at the Lilly Library, I decided to cover the papers of Nadine Gordimer. Gordimer was born in 1923 in a small town in South Africa. She has lived her whole life in the country and coped with the apartheid set by South African government in 1948. Apartheid literally means separateness and was a legal system to enforced racial segregation. It was similar to the racial segregation in America but much stricter for both sides. The apartheid lasted until 1993. Nadine Gordimer was one of the main writers and public figures to step out against the apartheid. She won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for literature. She is now very active in HIV/AIDS causes.

There are seven total folders of her work at the Lilly Library and each gives an insight into different times of her life and the different ways she expresses herself through writing. I have numbered the folders in which they were arranged in the box they came in.

Folder one contains “After Apartheid: Black and White in a New South Africa” address to the Oslo Conference, Aug 1990. This was a speech Gordimer gave to the members of the Oslo Conference against the apartheid. In this speech, she expresses not only how it hurts the country now but also how the fear and hate will leave emotional scars that could never heal. One of the most poignant things I thought she said was, “I am white but I owe no particular loyalty or solidarity to being white; I feel my respect is to human beings.” I think this is an interesting thought because so many people put emphasis on skin color but she just wants to help everyone and does not see a difference. It kind of reminds me of Elizabeth when she talks about how she has the heart of a king. Although she is a woman she sees both sides and wants to purely do what is right for her people. I also thought this speech was interesting because three years later the apartheid was dissolved.

Folder two contains an actual magazine article called “Africa: Ordeal By Color, Apartheid”. It was published in April 1959. This article is intriguing right away because she starts off with the literal definition and then talks about how different people would have different takes on the apartheid. She says that a white man might say, “It is a means of keeping South Africa white” but a black man’s answer would depend on the kind of day he was having and how the apartheid affected him that day. She goes on to tell so really interesting true stories from her life about how she was affected too. She talks about a wedding that she had to leave because it was a black friend’s wedding. She also tells about the time when she wanted to eat lunch with her black friend at the airport and she couldn’t even do that without security coming to break them up. I thought these stories were really compelling because even she was not permitted to do things or go certain places because of the situation. It really shows how it controlled everyone’s lives and not just people of color.

Folder three had the first stories that Gordimer ever published. She was thirteen when her first story “The Quest for Seen Gold” was published in a local newspaper, in 1937. The story is about a little girl who tries to capture the sun. It was an interesting story and showed just how talented she was at a very young age. There was also a newspaper clipping of a poem called “Spring”. I assume it comes from around the same time.

The fourth folder contained the most interesting piece of Gordimer’s works, at least to me. It was a play she had written in 1944 called The First Circle. The play was a more modern take on a chapter of “Dante’s Inferno”, one of the three books of “The Divine Comedy”. The play has many characters and a lot of great voices throughout. There is a main lesson to be taken from the play which is that people who stand by and do nothing is just as much of a misdeed as actually doing something wrong. Although this is written before the apartheid is actually instated, I assume that there was a lot of tension between the two types of people at this time. I think she was trying to reach out with this play and make a call to action. I think she was trying to tell people that they needed to help out and not just turn a blind eye to bad situations. This play shows how creative she was by intersecting this idea with a story as popular as “Dante’s Inferno”.

Folder five contains a short story, “African Emergent”. I think that the story is told from the perspective of a white man who is friends with a jailed black man. I believe he is telling his friend’s story but I only skimmed a little of it because it was pretty long.

Gordimer’s essay “Why it is not Satisfactory to Say that the Function of Language is ‘to Communicate Thought’” is in folder six. It was published in March of 1946. In scanning the first couple of pages of the long essay, I thought that she was building an argument for what else language does beside communicate thought or how thought can be communicated in other ways. There are also two other untitled essays in the folder.

Folder seven is the thickest of the all the other folders. It contains nine short stories all written before 1950. Like Emily, the only one I actually read was “The Hero” but did not really understand the point she was trying to make with the story. Later in this research, I would like to take the time to read some of these stories to see more themes that she covers.

I had never heard of Nadine Gordimer when I first started this process and honestly I picked her works at random. But I’m glad that I got to look into some of her work because I think she is a fascinating and talented writer and person. I look forward to learning more about her and the apartheid in South Africa.

Annie Besant and the Appeal to Empathy and Rationalization

Short Synopsis of Besant's Background and Beliefs

In order to more fully understand Annie Besant's pamphlets English Republicanism and Is the Bible Indictable?, it's imperative to understand the philosophy of this 19th century advocate of social reform and Theosophy. Besant is known famously for her leadership in the Theosophical Society, whose original doctrine promoted "the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity" and investigations into religion, philosophy, and science. It was heavily influenced by Eastern Mysticism, and members believed that "the universe, seen and unseen, was One Life, which evolved to consciousness... through a diversity of forms, governed by the mechanics of karma and reincarnation" (Dixon 4). Before she turned to the Theosophist doctrine in 1889, she was an active member of the National Secular Society and became a popular writer and speaker in the English free thought movement. She and Charles Bradlaugh edited the National Reformer during the 1870s, a publication "which advocated advanced ideas for the time on topics such as trade unions, national education, womens' right to vote, and birth control" ("Annie Besant" 1). During this time, she and Bradlaugh were charged with obscenity when distributing a birth control pamphlet; Is the Bible Indictable? is a response to the indictment.

Purpose and Method Behind 'English Republicanism' and 'Is the Bible Indictable?'

The intended audience for the pamplets in this free thought collection is clear when observing the forum in which Besant chose to write. These were not expensive books, out of reach of those of a lower class; they were relatively cheap and widely distributed. This made information easy to obtain for those without the money to pay for most of the scholarly books of the time. Besant believed knowledge shouldn't be privileged to the rich, which is perhaps her main motivation for writing Is the Bible Indictable?. She believed the common people had a right to knowledge, and it is to the English common people she writes.
Often in her organization of her arguments to this audience, she tries to first establish a solidarity with them before promoting a cause that may have been more controversial for the contemporary society. Instead of comparing the English Republic to that of the contentious Germany or France, she opts to choose more favorable, neutral countries like Switzerland and Denmark. This is, of course, after she establishes her firm belief that the English government model at its core (the Republic) is by far the best option; this would appear very favorably to her English audience. Under the unification she has gathered in the mind of her audience, she then asserts that these nations have exemplary forms of government due to the rationalization they built were on-- more universal suffrage, a component lacking in the British system. This was an object of great debate during the time, but Besant manages to undermine the effects of the controversy by building a point of empathy with her audience before extending her argument, which is supported by logical and comparative reasoning.
There is no use in the effectiveness of Besant's arguments though if they were not meant to incite some sort of action. The ultimate purpose of these pamphlets, besides simply educating the audience, was to have some change arise from the conclusion. All is well if an author can relate to their audience and convince them to change or challenge their mindset on a particular issue. The most challenging component is for said audience to actually do anything about this newly acquired knowledge. With the extensive use of rhetorical questions, both pamphlets encouraged the reader to actively think of the assertions-- a certain level of mental engagement. Nearing the end of the pamphlets, the reader is then challenged to a practical engagement. At the end of Is the Bible Indictable?, Besant asks her readers to judge for themselves the unfairness of the ruling in regards to the legal definition of obscenity. English Republicanism enforces the idea that the people should advocate a more Republican form of government by emphasizing the benefits of the system. Through the structure of her arguments, one can see the effective pattern Besant employs to convince her audience of the necessity of social and political reform by first emotionally engaging them, rationally engaging them, and finally practically engaging them.

Synopsis of 'Is the Bible Indictable?'

Besant wrote Is the Bible Indictable? to challenge the ruling of Lord Chief Justice Alexander Cockburn in relation to the charge of obscenity for publishing a birth-control booklet by Charles Knowlton. Cockburn defined obscenity as something that "depraves and corrupts those whose minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands a publication of this sort might fall" (Besant 2). She attacks the logic of punishing the publisher for the intents of the reader and points out the inconsistency to which the law is enforced to other works that could fall under this definition of obscenity. Shakespeare was a particularly effective example since his works no doubt can arise passion in its readers, but his literature was obviously beloved in his country of birth and would hence never be denied circulation despite meeting the legal definition of obscenity. This holds true for The Bible as well; no one would dare challenge to bring a charge against it because to do so was to seemingly attack the foundations of Christianity. Besant then goes on to point out all of the sections of the Bible which could be considered obscene but reassures her audience at the end that she is not insinuating that charges be brought against the publishing of the Bible. Indeed she emphasizes that "the right way would be to prosecute none of these books" (Besant 15).

Salient Questions to 'Is the Bible Indictable?'

In order to inspire any potential comments, it's interesting to see the tie between Besant's philosophy and how she promotes her arguments for reform. She seems to highly value empathy and rationalization. Would this have been effective to the late-19th century audience? Who would it seem to appeal more to in terms of social class and gender? In Kate Millet's Sexual Politics, she discusses the concept of patriarchal religion that could be seen as "demoting, discrediting, or eliminating goddesses and constructing a theology whose basic postulates are male supremacist" (340). Considering that Theosophisy is heavily influenced by the Eastern mysticism, what would you believe Besant's thoughts would be of the implication of this quote? Could this have influenced her decision to use the Bible as a principle example of obscenity to promote her argument? Why do you think she ultimately decides to use the Bible and not stress authors of literature that could also fall under the ruling of obscenity? How do other polemicists that we have read in class effectively incite a call to action in their audience?

Sources about Annie Besant:
http://bit.ly/fqclz4 (url shortened for vanity's sake)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/besant_annie.shtml

Notes on Nurse Nightingale

I chose to research Florence Nightingale because I am unfamiliar with her story and how she influenced the nursing world. Her texts, Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army..., Subsidiary Notes, and Notes on Nursing are a collection of texts discussing everything from educating a higher class of nurses to basic hygiene.

Subsidiary Notes- Nightingale makes it very clear at the beginning of this text what her aims are. She states "the main subject I conceive to be, to improve hospitals, by improving hospital-nursing; and to do this by improving, or contributing towards the improvement, of the class of hospital-nurses." This call for improvement is a need for education. This reminds me of Fuller when she writes, "What Woman needs is not as a woman to act or rule, but as nature to grow, as an intellect to discern" (562). Intellect is power, and this knowledge that she calls for will benefit not only the women, but also health care as a whole. Nightingale is presenting women of her time an option to learn and an occupation to seek. Fuller writes, "I think woman need, especially at this juncture, a much greater range of occupation than they have, to rouse their latent powers" (570). So not only is Nightingale educating these women, but giving them a much needed occupation. Finally a time where women can test their skills.
During future research I would like to learn more about the previous conditions of army hospitals and why did she call for volunteer nurses? Were volunteers more helpful than the professional nurses?

British Army- This text is very structured and straight forward. It is organized by dates, subjects, and people. When I was reading this, it almost felt like she was keeping a personal log of events, ideas, and stock records for the army. She talks of improvements to be made to sleeping quarters and appropriate clothing. Nightingale creates side notes to clarify and summarize what is being stated in the main text. This would help a reader to find a section very quickly and would make for a convenient reference. I believe her main strategy in this text is to point out flaws where they are noticed and appropriate measures that need to be taken to correct the issues. It almost acts a precautionary text for future reference. I would like to know why this text is so very different from her other texts. Was she hired to keep a log or did she feel this would best convey her message?

Notes on Nursing- This text highlights the basics of nursing and proper care or the sick. She states, "disease is the want of fresh air, lights, warmth, quiet, and cleanliness." When reading this text, she made her point very simple and easy to comprehend. Her audience, whether they were nurses or housewives, would be able to apply her philosophies. She also presents her thoughts on healthy living. "The very elements of what constitutes good nursing are as little understood for the well as for the sick." Not only does she discuss the importance of mending the sick and wounded, but a healthier lifestyle would eliminate the need for nursing. Thus prevention is just as important as knowing how to care for the sick.

Infectious Injustice

Phase One:

The Contagious Diseases Act in the United Kingdom was first passed by parliament in 1864 to prevent to spread of venereal diseases. The act looked to primarily protect men in the armed forces, who often contracted such diseases from prostitutes. The letters in the London Lowlife collection each discuss the act, the impact it has thus far had and the impact it will have upon society in the future. The writers also discuss the act’s practicalities and moral implications.

The three authors: Mrs. W.T. Malleson; “Justina” and an anonymous writer, each writes in response to a letter written by Miss. Garrett. According to the London Lowlife Collection, Garrett outwardly supported the Contagious Diseases Act and encouraged its extension.

The responses written by Justina and the anonymous writer go against Miss. Garrett, claiming that the Act not only endangers the liberty of women, but also intensifies the problem of venereal disease. The writers use prostitution as a prime example of this, arguing that the requirement of professional prostitutes to register themselves with the authorities was not only an unfair practice, but was inefficient in identifying such women, as many would evade registering. In her letter, Justina notes that it was common for lower class women to be registered and/or arrested; yet higher-class women often went undetected. Justina offers this as a severe flaw in the act. She suggests that requiring women to register and face not only public scrutiny, but unavoidable testing, and possible arrest, forces prostitution underground, thus encouraging the spread of disease and defeating the purpose of the act. This is an opinion also shared by the anonymous writer, who puts forth the idea that in order to make the act successful, and fair to both men and women, the entire male population should be subjected to similar testing and if infected, seclusion from society until cured.

All three writers convey the notion that the Contagious Diseases Act incurs a social injustice between the sexes. They point out that while women prostitutes, as well as some “respectable women,” (Justina, pg.28) have been arrested and subjected to compulsory checks for venereal disease, the men who use prostitutes, and thus spread the disease, are not subjected to the same treatment. Mrs. W. T. Malleson describes the way “vicious husbands and fathers communicate disease to their innocent wives and children” (Malleson, pg. 25), and yet are not held accountable. This is an opinion reiterated in the anonymous author’s argument whereby she states that only subjecting women to such testing is like, “arresting all drunk men and submitting them to police force and letting all women drinkers in the same way go free as blameless and unimpeachable” (pg2).

It is this injustice between the treatment of men and women that dominates Malleson’s argument. The writer expresses the need for equal opportunities between men and women particularly in terms of education. Malleson discusses the way women are put at a disadvantage from birth due to society’s lack of opportunities’ for them. She argues for an investment in teaching women about the dangers of venereal diseases, as well as providing young girls with a choice, so that they do not feel trapped/forced into the “evil” profession of prostitution. She places blame on men for the continuous spread of the disease amongst families as well as addressing other social injustices that relate to marriage and divorce.

While the three writers discuss in detail their opinion on Miss. Garrett’s letter and the Contagious Disease’s Act, offering their own solutions, I am interested in learning more about the anonymous author, as well as each of the writers’ backgrounds. I would also enjoying gaining a greater knowledge on the act itself in order to judge it from a more informed perspective and thus draw my own conclusions.

The Socialist (Wo)Manifesto

Mary Donovan Hapgood was truly a woman who could do it all. Her works throughout the years extended into a multitude of topics and themes. She stood beside the Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti for seven years in their brutal struggle with the law. Hapgood not only wrote her ideas on paper for all to see, but she lived them for all to experience. Throughout her account of her time with Sacco and Vanzetti, the audience begins to lose count on just how many times Hapgood discloses she was arrested or had an altercation with the law. While her work and dedication to the Sacco and Vanzetti case may be arguably her biggest work, Hapgood had more in her to say than what she got across with these two men. Her writings transcend genres and play with the manipulation to audience construction, appeals to pathos, and many more in her other works. When looking at Hapgood, it is a disservice to solely look at her more public work; in fact, much of her true feelings on the woman’s role in socialist reform may actually lie in her more private works.

Big Tim’s Daughter

Hapgood truly exposes her view on the role of women in the socialist reform that was becoming so prevalent in certain areas of work. Focusing on the relation between Big Tim and his daughter, Nellie, the text takes on a narrative approach that focuses on the idea of the audience as one that needs to be told a story to. There is a feeling of back-and-forth that truly inspires when the text is through. The narrative starts out with Nellie in a very classic woman’s role, the domestic. Hapgood even goes so far as to claim that “the comfort of her father was Nellie’s main interest in life….” (1). At first, this appears to be the antithesis of feminism. All that was being worked for at the time of this publication seems to be squandered in this one point. However, as the text progresses, Hapgood shows the audience that there is more in socialism than strict gender roles. After Nellie’s pregnancy, Big Tim takes over as domestic goddess, and he puts all his funds that remain from the strike into Nellie’s recovery. Clearly, as Big Tim takes care of his daughter, it is exposed that the woman’s role in socialism is variable. She must do her part, but all are in this struggle together. If Big Tim loses Nellie, he loses himself. The sense of community allows gender stereotypes to be broken down for the benefit of the group on the whole.

Why Do Intelligent Women Marry?

Again, Hapgood openly talks about what she thinks of the role of women is in her time, although within this text she does not solely focus on the socialist reform. Talking more of an orator stance, Hapgood truly uses this essay to discuss her somewhat fluid and changing thoughts on just what a woman should be. Starting with a strong nod to the domestic, Hapgood openly says: “Even in New England, I am what is considered a good housekeeper. To me the sight rows of currant jelly reddening in the afternoon sun—the clean, white family-washing whipping in the wind on a bright spring day…all bring me great joy and satisfaction in the accomplishment of worthwhile tasks” (1). She even includes a section within her text talking about how her daughter solely desires domestic lifestyle. However, perhaps using this thought about the youth of the world being stuck in past ideologies as a springboard for her viewpoints, Hapgood expresses how she is “also interested in other things—not in women’s clubs, I refuse to be segregated. I am oppose to Jim Crowism for colored people or for women’” (2). Taking this idea of non-segregation further, Hapgood claims that women should not be expected to do better than men in politics and that all should be allowed to “muddle” together. Clearly, infusing her socialist ideologies into her views on women’s rights, Hapgood makes strong claims for the necessity that men and women are one, and act united. Being united should never include appeasing the husband, or acting below him. Women must me independent within their marriage, but must also act in accordance with their husband. Hapgood truly walks a path right down the middle of the feminist ideals by neither taking an extremely liberal or conservative view on the topic. Instead, she takes a socialist view.

Jerry, The Mine Mule

Focusing more on exposing the injustices the working class experiences day in and day out, Hapgood again adapts the idea of the audience as one that should be told a story, and works to inspire change through an extremely well honed sense of pathos. Taking a simpler style and using animals as characters, Hapgood truly sets this essay up as a children’s story. It is as if she works to expose the youth of the nation to the harshness that the world has to offer them; she looks to the future for change. Because it is set up as such, Hapgood lacks subtlety in her devices, mainly focusing on en elicitation of pathos from the audience to amend the wrongs that she is pointing out. Hapgood openly states many of her points about the harshness of the mines and the poor treatment of laborers: “It seemed to Jerry that no matter how hard a mule worked some drivers were never satisfied” (4). She even openly shows the animals’ form of strike: “Bird…refused to draw more than three cars at any time. When she was given too heavy a load, she would look back, count the cars, and make her decision. She refused to move. When threatened with violence she kicked and jumped, even hitting the roof with her tow hind feet, but she would not go forward”(5). While this may all seem simple, it is still effective. It allows for children and adults alike to see the injustices in a way that truly inspires change. This may not be Hapgood’s most refined text, but it does not mean that it does not still include spirit and ideas for change.

The Vanishing Virtue

Within this text, Hapgood elaborates more on the qualities that she feels we all must have to be effective in social reform and protest. The essay serves as a sort of “how to” guide and puts an emphasis on the three basic qualities that all must have: daring, defiance, and fortitude. These three elements lead to courage, which can lead to socialist reform. Hapgood may be the least focused on techniques and audience construction within this essay as she focuses more on the people who have shaped her to have these feelings and believe in what she does. Later on in the text, Hapgood scolds industry for crushing individuality saying: “Industrial conditions are perhaps the most destructive of individuality…Here is the best opportunity to crush the individual who raises his head above the herd” (1). Her ideals come off as very cut and dry socialism within this essay. She rallies her troops and gets ready for any advancement in the near future.

No Tears for My Youth

A culmination of all the techniques and ideals that she has already demonstrated, No Tears for My Youth may be Hapgood’s most striking piece of work. It focuses on the need for basic human rights and makes use of extreme pathos in order to show the audience the need for basic goodness in life. I choose not to discuss it too much further here, as it will be the focus of my next phase as I explore related material to the Sacco and Vanzetti trial.

Queen Victoria said so, that's why.

Phase One:
Upon my discovery process at the Lilly, I dug through a couple of documents on Victorian Women. Initially I was confused as to what exactly I was supposed to be looking for, so I just flipped through chapters of Ellen Barlee’s works including Our Homeless Poor and Friendless and Helpless. However, after researching afterwards about the Victorian time era, women’s place in society during the Victorian era, and Victorian morality, points of interest began to form in relation to Barlee’s works. Our Homeless Poor and Friendless and Helpless were written in compliance to the issue of injustice and unfairness of the life of poverty ridden citizens and recognizing women’s nonexistence in the working class.
The values of the Victorians can be classed under Religion, Morality, Elitism, Industrialism and Improvement, all aspects Barlee highlighted in both works. The texts were to be used as a tool to help women envision and empathize the lives of poor citizens in the Victorian era. The first chapter of Friendless and Helpless is titled “Pauperism”. The acknowledgment of the poor and the urge to be good and Christian bring a type of “Robin Hood” attitude towards the wealthy. It is among the societal duties of Victorian women to be pure as a Saint and what better way to be seen as a Saint than to act like one? She claims that the poverty in England, a “Christian Country” was utterly uncalled for. This goes with the expectations from the Church and the oppression gender standards for women in the 19th century.
I am curious and wonder why Queen Victoria would bind women so strictly with laws and societal demands upon the female gender. Why would a women who held untold amounts of power and influence not use that to assist the destruction of oppression against women in society? It is obvious in Barlee's works that the women were opressed in society by not being able to hold jobs and also by the lack of rights they held.

Exploring Florence Nightingale!

Phase One:In the three texts, Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army, Subsidiary Notes, and Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale produced a good buffet of information for us to handle. Nightingale mainly discusses the techniques, general ideas, and values coming in to play in nursing; keeping the different texts clear and concise with side notes and well oriented themes organized by chapters or sections.

Notes on Matters...British Army (pp. I-XXIX):

A lot can be said about Florence Nightingale's work, which calls attention to the "matters" documented during the Crimean War. She compiled a variety of letters, organizing them into sections with who wrote them and by date- all the while keeping side notes, which help define certain terms and expand a bit on some things. Nightingale doesn't exactly give an omniscient point of view where she explains everything in detail but does expand on some knowledge exchanged, which gives us her purpose. Her purpose in this section was to introduce the British Army's hygiene and how "matters" affected the events that followed. She does point out in the beginning though that changes need to be made to prevent similar things from happening in the future. Or that we use the text to learn from their mistakes to better take care of our people. Organized with dates, letter documentation, and side notes, Nightingale also provides charts and histories (or collections of events) later in the book. Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army is definitely a different text from her other pieces on nursing.

Subsidiary Notes (pp. 1-19):

With these notes on nursing, Florence Nightingale presents a different route from her other book (seen above). She states "The main object I conceive to be, to improve hospitals, by improving hospital nursing, and to do this by improving or contributing towards the improvement of the class of hospital nurses, whether nurses or headnurses..." This quote gives us her purpose for this book. Subsidiary Notes is her claim or argument to, like she stated, improve nursing. She suggests a volunteer service of nurses and also talks about more education for these nurses. The organization of this text uses a table of contents but also uses a digest where her points are broken up even more before she goes into the text itself. The side notes (like she used in Notes on Matters) help to break her paragraphs down as well. We can use this text to take her advice and apply it to today's version of nurses to see how well we have shaped Florence Nightingale's ideal nursing society.

Notes on Nursing (any chapter- Chapter 1):

While the other two texts of Florence Nightingale's discussed the features of improving nursing for the future through education and observations of history, Notes on Nursing addresses "what it is and what it is not". Nightingale clearly states in the beginning of this chapter that she wishes the definition of nursing to mean something along the lines of "the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, quiet and the proper selection of administration of diet". She then continues through the text organizing it in smaller chunks applying to the larger themes she said in her statement above. We can still use these logical points and general ideas today to help in nursing because instead of discussing the medicine and treatments needed, she speaks of techniques.

All of her texts have to deal with the idea of improving nursing in some way, though, Notes on Nursing seems to embody Florence Nightingale's argument the best. While she wishes to improve nursing through education and clearing the path for a new and better definition of nursing, she also speaks of a different idea that he other texts didn't touch on. The education of nurses is still very important, but Nightingale leans toward the importance of general and logical knowledge, which has little to do with medicine and is more of the art of nursing. This theme, looking a nursing from another angle, helps to project her idea of nursing improvement with methods, which can still be utilized today.

Two questions:

In Subsidiary Notes, Nightingale states that she wishes a wants to save the body of a patient and not to rely on the faith that person holds. The physical is much more important to her. But why is she attempting to overturn the Religious Order of nurses in hospitals? Does she believe that they are doing more bad than good?

From a historical point of view including all of the texts, what was it like in her time for her to wish to improve nursing this badly?

Language: A Social and Political Tool?

In perusing the seven folders of artifacts by Nadine Gordimer, I uncovered a piece of her life, a small peephole into what this woman was like. In Box 4 Folder 21 there are a number of works from her childhood, specifically from age 13, that gave me a sense of just how talented Gordimer really was. At 13 she published a poem, “Spring,” and a short story, “The Valley Legend” in the Sunday Express. Also, in a journal-like assignment, 13 year old Gordimer enumerates every book she has read that year, totaling 41, her favorite being, “Gone with the Wind.” This is an intense book for a young child to fully appreciate, but in her journal she seems to grasp at least some of the deeper messages within the book. So as a 13 year old she is already showing great promise for the future.

The next folder, 22, holds a play Gordimer wrote, “The First Circle,” probably performed around 1944, making her at most 19 at the time she wrote it. This particular play is the window to the rest of Gordimer’s following writings; it introduces her call to political action and her interest in the situation in South Africa. After reading the play in its entirety, I think it would be incredibly beneficial to perhaps research what was actually occurring in the social and political spheres in South Africa at the time she wrote this and then go back and read the play again to see if any of the characters actually embody any real persons in particular. However, even without having any prior knowledge to the situation in South Africa, Gordimer makes it clear that no one party can be blamed in entirely for the situation.

The structure of the play is essentially an updated 2oth century version of Dante and Virgil’s tour of hell, specifically limited to the first circle in which the two travelers encounter a handful of characters that all are in some way sinners that lent to the injustice of the situation in South Africa. Without going into too much detail about each person’s individual sins, it is easier to say that they all committed sins of apathy; it was a lack of appropriate action or blind eye to the situation that reserved them a place in the first circle of hell. She specifically uses Shakespeare to illustrate this theme. Dante says, “Neither good nor evil, did they take part. – Then they have done nothing master?” Virgil answers, “Nothing. And nothing will come of nothing.” Essentially Gordimer crafted the play as a criticism of every person’s, both the oppressed and the oppressor’s, apathetic attitude towards the need for political and social change in South Africa.

In Folder 24 an essay, “Why it is Not Satisfactory to Say that the Function of Language is ‘to Communicate Thought,’” Gordimer argues “the function of language is entirely subordinate to another function: the expression of pain, surprise, and protest; the release of my feelings. In fact what is summed up more technically as ‘emotive function’” (1). She essentially argues that language is more than just a straight-forward tool of communication, and that it is actually the medium through which to express emotion. I think in further research it would be interesting to read a little more into the essay and see if any of the points of her argument could be applied to her play. Perhaps she chose to write a play about South Africa instead of a discourse because of the way she feels language should be used?

Folder 25 contains a number of “odd stories” by Gordimer, and after a brief scan I randomly chose to read one titled, “Hero,” in which a mother takes her son to the Lincoln Memorial. The story refers to “years of darkness” and this “flame” that a mosquito, which I believe represents Lincoln, circles until the end of the “years of darkness.” In further research I would like to try and identify what those “years of darkness” refer to, and perhaps delve further into her analogy of Lincoln as a mosquito.

Folder 29 contains her essay on the “African Emergent,” which uncovers one particular issue in South Africa that Gordimer clearly takes great issue with, that of the issue of black vs. white. Folder 32 contains her essay, “After Apartheid: Black and White in a New South Africa,” which further illustrates her concern with the issue of race. Also in Folder 32 is Gordimer’s address to the Olso Conference in 1990 in which she has great hope that the, “Law in South Africa will outlaw all racism.” She uses a poem by Mongane Serote in her address which deals with the hope for New South Africa. This again prompts me to wonder whether further research about Gordimer’s views on language can help lend more light onto why she uses poetry and playwriting to make political commentary. Folder 38 appropriate concludes this survey of her writing with the essay, “Africa: Ordeal by Color APARTHEID.” In her own words she connects her social concern to her own personal life, which I believe would be interesting to further research her biography to see how she became to personally involved in South Africa.

“My own friends among Africans are people I happen to like, my kind of people, whose friendship I am not prepared to forgo because of some racial theory I find meaningless and absurd. Like that of many others, my opposition to apartheid is compounded not only out of a sense of justice but also out of a person, selfish and extreme distaste for having the choice of my friends dictated to me, and the range of human intercourse proscribed for me.”

Nightingale on Nursing

For Phase One: Exploring the Artifacts, I decided to do my work on the Florence Nightingale collection-Classical Works in History of Medicine and Surgery. Though nursing, both modern and historical, is a field I know nothing about, I have really enjoyed a close examination of this collection on texts. While I am still in the beginning stages of gathering and evaluating the information of Nightingale's works, here is some of what I've come across thus far:

Most obviously, Nightingale's texts, Notes on Nursing and Notes on Affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army..., are intended to encourage the importance of nursing and its purpose, while imporving the medical conditions it involves. She strives, in a truly note-like manner, to explain that nursing-that proper nursing-is effective and vital to the health of society, expecially women and children (Notes on Nursing), and soldiers (Notes on Matters...). In a matter-of-fact, unaccusitory way, Nightingale stresses that sanitary nursing is compulsory, but that her writings are not intended to be used as a guide book or manual. The best experience in the ways of the reparative process hails from a setting experience. Many tricks of the nursing trade are better learned on the job than from a book.

Notes on Matters... is simply a condensed list of diary-like entries that include letters and personal journals as well as reserve lists from both Army ranks and military health administrators. Notes on Nursing, on the other hand, is Nightingale's own text about the key areas of sanitary nursing, as seen in the reparative process. These areas, outlined one-at-a-time in short chapters, include: Good Ventilation, the Health of Houses (pure air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanliness, light), Petty Management, Noise, Variety, Taking Food, Bed and Bedding, Light, Cleanliness of Room and Walls, Pesonal Cleanliness, Chattering and Hopes of Advices, Observation, and Conclusion. Each section includes an explanation of the importance of the area, some previous fallacies of the area, and a means of improvement of the area. Again, I appreciate Nightingale's unpretentious, logical approach to her writing. She provides ample examples to support her assertions.

In Notes on Nursing, the text from the collection I liked best, Nightingale claims that by challenging man's ability to overome sickness, God is teaching and justifying his laws. Though Nightingale makes no other religious/spiritual references and uses God, in no way, as a basis for her writing, this stood out to me nonetheless. It was casually thrown in at the beginning of Notes on Nursing, but is not brought up again. It is as if, Nightingale accepts this as a truth, invites her reader/student to do the same, but will not be perturbed if he/she does not agree. In the end, what is most important to Nightingale is that she educate the public on the importance of sanitary nursing first on an individual level in the hopes of improving the field as a whole.

Upon my return to the Lilly and further analysis and understanding of Nightingale's texts I would like to get better feel for who she was writing to. I think I will need to learn a bit more about the actual conditions of the nursing field during her active time and what impact she had on them. Florence Nightingale's name is world-renown now, but I don't know if she had as great of an impact while she worked. I would also like to know whether she had any adversaries-that would be interesting because I cannot imagine who would want to hinder health care. Finally, I would like to know if the few religious implications from Notes on Nursing are more important and influential to her work than I am currently led to believe. I look forward to digging deeper!

The Contagious Diseases Acts: Immorality, Inequality, and Injustice

The Contagious Diseases Acts, as described in the pamphlets in the London Lowlife Collection, licensed and nationalized prostitution while making medical examinations of women for venereal disease compulsory. The acts were implemented in 1866 and brought with them a wide range of controversy. Mary Hume-Rothery, a writer who refers to herself as “Justina,” and an anonymous author are the writers of the three pamphlets in the London Lowlife Collection. According to the authors, a woman named Miss Garrett wrote articles in support of the Contagious Diseases Acts and encouraged the extension of the acts’ laws. The authors of the pamphlets in the London Lowlife Collection can be assumed to be females arguing for the sake of females. Each of the authors in the London Lowlife Collection writes in response to Miss Garrett’s article in varying degrees of disagreement.

Justina and the anonymous author both argue that the Contagious Diseases Acts were ineffective at best because they only focused on the physical symptoms of venereal diseases. Although registered prostitutes were forced to receive treatment in hospitals for their physical symptoms, the acts did not provide any guidelines or requirements for the education of morality. Without a change in morals, the authors assert that there would be no change in behavior. The anonymous author was particularly focused on religion and the issue of morality throughout her writing, so she put extra emphasis on the need for morality and the acts’ lack thereof.

Without a change in morality and thereby behavior, Justina and the anonymous author then contend that the acts simply force prostitutes into secrecy. The acts brought with them dishonor and prosecution for the women who tested positive for venereal diseases. Naturally, prostitutes would want to avoid such experiences and carry on their business without government interference, so the acts led to an expansion of clandestine prostitution. Prostitutes would evade registering as a prostitute, thereby escaping the necessity of examination. This was another flaw in the Contagious Diseases Acts that these authors pointed out: only public, and usually lower class prostitutes were required to be examined. Most of the time, prostitutes who served the upper ranks in the military were clandestine and remained untreated, thereby spreading the diseases further. Additionally, the acts could only possibly work in small, isolated communities with enough manpower. The police force carried out laws laid out by the acts, and the acts called for prostitutes to be treated twice a week. With the vast number of prostitutes, it could take upwards of 50,000 police officers to meet the needs of the acts. The authors argued that the acts did not propose a practical and realistic solution based on a lack of manpower.

In order to be affective, all three authors insist that the acts needed to require the monitoring of the men the prostitutes serve as well as the prostitutes themselves. Even if all prostitutes were treated, the men they interacted with before being treated would have contracted the disease. The men would have then spread the disease onto their wives and families, creating an endless cycle that could not be contained without the monitoring of men as well as prostitutes. Although Miss Garrett seems to have been in support of the acts extending to include all women, not just prostitutes, the authors of the pamphlets mention that there were no designs to include men in the examinations. This created an unjust pattern where women had the continuous chance of being violated, disgraced, and embarrassed while men remained untouched.

Mary Hume-Rothery offered men as the culprit for the cycle of venereal disease and prostitution. She argued that prostitutes were forced into their position by a lack of education, income, and opportunity, while men entered into deals with prostitutes willfully and knowledgeably with no more motive than their animal nature.

The authors are in agreement that the acts promoted prostitution and reflected the country’s faithlessness and despair. Justina and Mary Hume-Rothery endorsed equal education as a means to transcend prostitution and the resulting disease, arguing that knowledge and economic opportunity for women would give them more options than prostitution.

To move forward, I would like to explore Miss Garret’s articles to see what she explicitly says. I would also like to find out the outcome of the Contagious Diseases Acts to see if they continued in effect for several years or if they were repealed as a result of pamphlets like the ones I analyzed. I would also like to try to find out who the author of the third pamphlet is.

Wartime Politics and Civic Duty

Hello, everyone.

As requested, I post here the results of the civic duty grid we constructed today. For Thursday's symposium, please bring all texts back to class, as we will begin to consider social movements and critical terms in this sphere.

Enjoy the readings!

-Professor Graban

Phases One and Two at the Lilly Library

Hello, everyone.

This is just a reminder that our next scheduled day to work at the Lilly Library is on February 24. In the meantime, please remember to sign yourself in for at least one working session before February 22, so that you can decide on a set of materials that interests you and complete Phase One "Exploring the Artifact" in time to write your first post. (Posts and comments are due on this blog by 11:15 a.m. on 2/24; please post early to give yourselves time to comment.)

If you finish Phase One early, feel free to locate some collaborators and get started on Phase Two "Exploring Related Materials." While the main goal of Phase Two is for you to learn how to access two particular items related to your collection, this phase is much more enjoyable if you can actually get your hands on those items! (Since some items have to be requested in advance, you may need to begin this Phase a little early in order to request them.)

Send any questions my way, or to our fabulous head of Reference and Public Services, Rebecca Cape. You may also find answers to them on the Lilly Library Blog.

See you tomorrow in class,
-Professor Graban

Investigative Archival Project

Dear ENG L207 Class:

Thursday's class will be held in the Lilly Library (across from the Showalter Fountain), where Rebecca Cape will introduce us to the Library's holdings and to our "collection" of rare texts by lesser-known women writers. This semester, you will have the opportunity to explore this collection and select one or more of their texts to be the basis of some short problem-solving exercises and a longer investigative paper. For a sneak preview, see our "Assignments and Projects" page, where the assignment sheets will be posted later today!

Please bring your IU identification card, pencil and paper (or a laptop). We will not be permitted to bring folders, binders, or bags into the reading room; however, there will be lockers available for safely storing those and other personal items. Please also bring the assignment sheet for Critical Essay #1, so that you can ask any questions.

Many thanks,
Professor Graban

Dis-Ease, Corsetry, and Hysteria

Hello, everyone.

I offer some information regarding Victorian corsetry and "female invalidism" that may be relevant to our discussions of "Yellow Wallpaper." One source, a 1910 medical text by Robert L. Dickinson entitled Toleration of the Corset, cites a number of corset deformities, including fat pad displacement, hip creases, and unnatural elongation. While the illustrations are explicit, the theories of measurement (corrective, neutral, harmful) are interesting in themselves, and echo some physiological concerns with corsetry or tight lacing of outfits, including hysteria (although there is no definitive link between corsetry and hysteria).

A search in Godey's Lady's Book "corset" points to advertisements and articles about more comfortable alternatives to bone stays and tight lacing, beginning in the 1890s. And an etymology of hysteria (although cin the Oxford English Dictionary shows that, at least until the seventeenth century, the term tended to refer to its classical root, or to the Greek "hystera" (uterus). By the nineteenth century, medical diagnoses for hysteria began to include men.

In their critical commentary, Gilbert and Gubar contextualize late 19th-century social custom as "train[ing women] in renunciation" rather than in appropriation, growth, or development. Since the 1892 publication of Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper," the main character's dis-ease has been attributed to several things, including post-partum depression, nervous disorder, and agoraphobia (fear of crowds). Of course, none of these diagnoses has an explicit origin in social customs like corsetry, although Gilman does allude to several customary misdiagnoses of her condition in "Why I Write 'The Yellow Wallpaper'."

-Prof. Graban