Ellyn’s Blog

Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews is highly focused on the hypocrisy of the nobility the wealthy merchants in
England.  Another element that is central to the text is the reversal of traditional male/female roles.  Fielding uses this role reversal to highlight how hypocritical the women in particular in the society are.  Lady Booby in particular is targeted.  Even before the death of her husband, the noble Lord Booby, the Lady took note of the promising groom.  Following her husband’s death, she reassigned the horseman as her footman, allowing her more opportunities for privacy with him.  Behind her public façade of mourning, the Lady makes several advances, which Joseph turns down.  Much like his sister Pamela, Joseph is giving to telling melodramatic accounts of his employer’s attempts upon his virtue. While Lady Booby behaves much in a manner considered typical of men (very sexually active, and very forward about her advances), Joseph responds more like a young maid than a teenage boy (i.e.  my virtue! How dare you!).  However, he is a teasing young maid of a man, he waits until it is almost too far, then pulls back. 

            In addition to Lady Booby, several other women approach Joseph, all of whom are some form of upper class.  Fielding uses this as a way to satirize the upper class—they pride themselves on being the most mannerly of the members of society, however, they are the ones who act on their baser notions.  This is because they can afford to ignore the conventions of
England, using the reputation of their families and their money as a way to elevate themselves out of harm.  Meanwhile, Fanny, a women of the lower class, is the one who behaves with the most decorum (well, in between the sticky situations she manages to get herself into). 

In many ways, the Houyhnhnms are the ideal civilization.  They are creatures who live and die by the rule of reason, and they do not allow emotions to cloud their judgment.  Gulliver describes the behavior of the horse people as “so orderly and rational, so acute and judicious… [that] they must needs be magicians.”  Every aspect of life is perfect in this culture—the population will remain balanced by breeding to produce ideal children both in appearance and temperament/intelligence, as well as an 1:1 ratio between males and females.  This means there is a mate for every member of the community.  If a couple loses a child, or is infertile, another couple breeds replacements for the infertile couple.  The very lack of emotion that allows the Houyhnhnms to function so well as a society is the exact thing that makes them seem so inhuman:  humans are ruled by their emotions, from ambition to rage.

            In return for abandoning emotions humans would most likely gain some form of world peace.  If they achieved the levels of rationality attained by the Houyhnhnms, we would be able to begins to correct the imbalances in wealth, health, and nutrition across the globe as well.  When one area began to suffer a lack of food, for example, the rest of the globe would band together, each providing enough food to supplement the area in need.  On the other hand, in exchange for such peace and cooperation, the world would lose literature, poetry, art, films, ect.  All of these are works fueled by emotion, and without love, anger, and everything in between, none of these works would ever be created, much less inspire others to read them to such an extent that authors works are still read and appreciated centuries after their death.  In other words, the lack of emotion would be a double-edged sword for human beings.

The conflict between the language Spenser uses to describe the characters of Venus and Diana and the quality they are supposed to represent is very interesting.  While Diana is meant to be virginal, and the more respectable and well liked character in the story, and on the surface it would appear that Spenser is supporting that belief, his use of word choice gives lie to his deeper belief in the claim.  Diana, in her “wanton wildernesse” is “[scorning]” and “[scoffs]” when Venus asks for her help.  On the other hand, Venus is “engrieved”, portrayed as a mother searching for her son.  Venus goes on to point out that “[they] both are bound to follow heavens beheasts” and that just as Diana is doing what she was created to do, so too is Venus.  Spenser’s use of word choice is designed to make the reader more sympathetic with the goddess of love, and as many perceive her, wanton behavior.  At the same time, he makes his Diana come across as cold, heartless, and temperamental.  It seems like he is commenting on his society’s perceptions that every wanton woman is bad in every way, and every proper women is by far more desirable. 

In Act 3 of The Tragedy of Mariam, the chorus gives the reader a great deal of food for thought.  They claim that it is not enough for a wife to stay faithful to her husband and keep her reputation spotless, she must also keep at bay any suspicion of a smut on her honor.  They ask Mariam “when [you] hath spacious ground to walk on, why on the ridge do [you] desire to go”?  In reality, Mariam has no alternative to walking on this fine ridge, so close to danger.  Either way, tongues are bound to wag and she is bound to come under suspicion of some type of disorderly behavior.  If she is perceived as being overly friendly, those members of the court who wish her ill will spread the rumor that she is conducing an affair.  Likewise, she tries to be withdrawn and keep others at a distance, coming across as haughty.  Salome uses this unlikable quality to fuel her rumor that Mariam was unfaithful while Herod was away from court.  Mariam relies on her innocence too much, and tries to maintain her distance from the rumors flying around.  She believes that by not using the guiles of women, such as her body and clever words, Herod will be more likely to believe in her.  However, such passive resistance backfires—when Herod comes home expecting to find a warm welcome from his wife, and finds instead a cold and distant greeting he begins to gives more consideration to Salome’s claims.  However, because Mariam is bound to this fine line that she must walk, there is very little she can do at this point to save herself.  She has no room to maneuver herself to safety.

             I found the difference in the viewpoints in Wyatt’s “Whoso List to Hunt” and Spenser’s “Sonnet 67” particularly interesting this week.  Wyatt’s poem implies that even though he knows he will never catch this particular deer, knows that this extraordinary creature belongs to the King (either Caesar or King Henry VIII), he will continue to pursue her.  He knows that he is “spending his time in vain” but he is actually incapable of leaving off the hunt—and this poem serves as a warning to others who might care to hunt the white deer.  Spenser’s version of the same poem is dramatically different.  The huntsman in his sonnet has in fact already given up the chase and (sits downe to rest…in some shady place).  He has even called off his hounds, and has them with him.  However, during his rest, the deer he had been pursuing returns to him and is as easily caught as any tame creature.  This is a far cry from Wyatt’s deer—that deer would not have been so easily caught, is indeed supposedly “wild to hold.”