We spoke in class today about Ann Bradstreet's poem in which she says,
"Men can do best and women know it well...
If e'er you design these lowly lines your eyes,
Give thyme or Parsley wreath, I ask no Bays"
These lines in particular, though others convey a similar message, seem to accept the inferiority of her gender. As we discussed, Bradstreet seems to be saying something along the lines of "I know I'm only a women and I know I'll never be as good as a man but take a look at my stuff, I'm pretty good." This general sentiment seemed to be popular of the age. The idea reminded me of a speech of Queen Elizabeth I's that we read in Euro. She too condemns her sex. She states that although she knows shes weak and will never be as powerful as a man but asks the people to "forgive her sex".
I question whether or not this was an effective tactic. Was it necessary for women of the time to reassure everyone that they knew there place when they were trying for something? I just wonder if a sentiment like this would really change anyone's opinion of the speaker. Would people be less likely to support Elizabeth if you were'nt sure she knew her place? It seems almost nonsensical. If men of the time did not respect women's opinions that why would this tactic be effective? The position of the speaker has not changed. My only guess is that people feared that these women were looking for a drastic change in the social order and they were assuring that they did not.
Thoughts?
(Molly Dunbar)
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6 comments:
Along with your theory, Molly, I also think that it was a type of warrant. Those women knew that most of their audience would consist of men, who thought that women were the superior race. They knew that it would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to try to convince every single man that women are just as equal as men. Therefore, they accepted that opinion and worked around it in their arguments. My guess is that they valued their work more than their status. It actually reminds me of the politiques. They were willing to put aside their individual beliefs for the sake of the country. In a way, these women are politiques. They are putting aside their belief in gender equality for the sake of their work and acceptance.
Molly, I agree with your conjecture: some were afraid that women like Bradstreet were possibly attempting to establish a new social order, but the women tried to assure them that this was NOT what they were after. Hence, we have noted Bradstreet's reference to the laurel wreath.
In terms of the efficacy of the "I know my place as a woman" tactic, I, too, doubt that such a tactic would ever cause a stubborn man's opinion of the speaker (woman) to change. However, I agree with Mary that a woman's intent in utilizing the tactic in her writing or speech is to establish a warrant with her male audience. She knows that if she can obtain common ground with her audience, then it will be more likely that her audience will listen to her and respect her work. Therefore, shouldn't her tactic have some level of efficacy?
Using Queen Elizabeth as an example, isn't it safe to say that if she hadn't tried to assure her audience that she knew her place as a woman, then many additional men would have assumed that she wished to reset the social order or claim that she was all-powerful? Thus, doesn't her tactic have at least a bit of effect on her audience? Although it probably didn't caused their opinions of her to change, wouldn't it have increased the possibility that certain people would listen to her?
I'm not sure if this made any sense. What are your thoughts?
(Janet Lee)
The interesting thing about the Queen Elizabeth anecdote is that she, although a woman, represented royalty and was "higher" in status than any of the men that she was speaking to. Yet still, she was expected to make a statement like the one she did in fear of being overthrown and pushed away. Her "warrant" was one made for political purposes. But what about Anne Bradstreet's? (Like Molly said, her differentiation between the laurel wreath and the parsley wreath seems like the most prominent example of this.)
Bradstreet wasn't necessarily looking to publish her work, and she wasn't quite seeking fame. Why, then, did she make these warrants when in her quaternions she clearly manifested her feminist points of view?
(Sam Maliha)
Just a couple of questions. I'm not sure in relation to the times QEI and Bradstreet were living in, but is it possible that it wasn't politicking on the part of QEI and it wasn't a tactic on the part of Bradstreet? Is it possible that they genuinely believed their sex to be inferior, therefore spoke more humbly of themselves?
Emily T.
To answer Emily I think that they may have considered themsleves equal to men at some points but in general they truly believed that they were inferior in many situations. That is what they were taught from a young age. Who are they to say that what they have done is better than a man who according to the Bible was made in the form of God himself? I think that Queen Elizabeth I would have been more likely to actually think she was better than everyone else including males because of the simple fact that she was royalty. To use a horrible example in the movie Elizabeth they seemed to make it that when she pointed out her inferiority in sex she was sort of joking. She said (to paraphrase), "Who am I, as a woman, to change the minds of strong men such as yourselves?" Yet she did. This may or may not have been the way that she said it but it is an option to consider.
(Kelley Volosin)
Well, initially Bradstreet tried to imitate the loftier writing styles of her male contemporaries, and often acted humbly, as a woman paying respect to her male elders. However, later on, I feel that Bradstreet took on more independence, writing about more unconcealed female subjects, such as childbirth. In those writings, no longer did she apologize for being a woman. Indeed, merely to write poems on those feminine subjects, she was accepting her gender and using it to aid her in her understanding.
Regarding Queen Elizabeth, I feel that what she was saying was only a ploy or tactic. As we discussed in AP Euro, that speech of hers was expressly designed to rouse up the emotions of her fellow Englishman and bring forth patriotism. Pretending to apologize for being a woman even strengthened her words (I may be a woman, but even I'm an Englishman!).
-Eric Wei
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