Are there any moments in The Female Quixote where we see Arabella acting as Mondrian did with nature, and if so, what does she do it with?
"This book is about the obsessive strategies people use to keep the arbitrary out of their lives; it is about the fanaticism and intolerance linked to their ideas of perfection and permanence. Mondrian rejected nature because it would never conform to his will or sit still in grid-like immutability" (Introduction, 1).
"Her Ideas, from the Manner of her Life, and the Objects around her, had taken a romantic Turn; and, supposing Romances were real Pictures of Life, from them she drew all her Notions and Expectations" (The Female Quixote, 7).
As stated in the book, "she would have made a great Profiency in all useful Knowledge, had not her whole Time been taken up by another Study" (7). The other study that the story refers to her "Fondness for Reading." It is through these books that Arabella draws "her ideas," "notions," and "expectations." As we see later on in the novel, she uses these stories as a base for her interactions with guys. Mr. Hervey, who after seeing Arabella desires to court her, gets driven away because Arabella believes that he wishes to hurt her; she is suspicious of Edward, and rejects her cousin because he doesn't greet her properly. In another instance, Arabella is thinking of running away, but then realizes "she did not remember to have read of any Heroine that voluntarily left her Father's House, however persecuted she might be" (35). Based on these moments, it could be suggested that Arabella is absorbed in her books, and like Mondrian with nature, rejects her reality and instead draws her experiences and notions from these romantic novels she reads.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
Thesis Statement and Outline
Today, many people look at curiosity as a positive virtue. In an age where many products are considered “smart” (smart phone, smart car), it isn’t uncommon to have intelligent people behind these items that were driven by one ambition: to create a better product. This was done by having a curiosity for what our future could be. But, in the past, curiosity was once considered a stigma. As Benedict says, “curiosity has also been depicted as the cause of mankind’s errors” and that “curious people also become or produce objects of curiosity” (1). In fact, she also goes on to argue “that English culture portrays curiosity as the mark of a threatening ambition, an ambition that takes the form a perceptible violation of species and categories” (2), so it is no surprise to learn that, a novel that addresses female empowerment and female sexual freedom by means of curiosity, would be considered scandalous. Eliza Haywood's short story, “Fantomina” examines the role of women in a patriarchal society; namely, she focuses on how women were forced into limited roles which proved powerless over males. Instead of accepting the patriarchal society as it is, Haywood works against the idea of this society by creating a female protagonist touched with curiosity, and in doing so, not only creates a female identity, but creates one that is considered equal to the male identity.
Haywood starts off her story by describing the main character as “a young lady of distinguished birth, beauty, wit, and spirit” (1). This description lacks any real descriptive qualities (such as hair color, eye color, etc.) that would set this female character apart from others. In fact, Haywood could be describing any one of those “young ladies” of “distinguished birth.” By failing to add other qualities, Haywood therefore fails to add a female identity. She furthers this lack of female identity in her main character by leaving her unnamed in the story. This, along with the restrictions placed on the character -- like not being able to having a meaningful conversation with a male -- are meant to showcase the society as highly patriarchal. Men are allowed to talk to females without any implications (“she perceived several gentlemen extremely pleased themselves with entertaining a woman who sat in a corner of the pit” [1]). In addition, Haywood chooses to name the male protagonist, showing that they are the superior sex.
Outline:
I. Introduction + Thesis statement
- history of curiosity -- both negative and positive virtue
- society as patriarchal
- women lack identity, power, and sexual freedom
II. Body Paragraphs (3-5)
i. Description of main character as evidence for male society
- doesn't distinguish her from others
- fails to add female identity
- leaves female unnamed, while naming male
- quotes about restrictions
ii. Introduction to curiosity
- starts off as natural curiosity to know what is being restricted
- not dangerous to society yet
- quotes about curiosity
iii. turn of natural curiosity to greed-like
- once realizes potential, turns into something more
- keeps tricking Beauplaisir to be with him - sexual
- moment that crosses line and all restrictions are gone
- now has identities
III. Conclusion
Monday, September 16, 2013
In what way does Haywood portray curiosity in Fantomina, and is there a sense of threatening ambition that accompanies the unnamed female protagonist?
"I argue that English culture portrays curiosity as the mark of a threatening ambition, an ambition that takes the form of a perceptible violation of species and categories" (Introduction, 2)
" But they, either less surprised by being more accustomed to such Sights, than she who had been bred for the most Part in the Country, or not of a Disposition to consider any Thing very deeply, took but little Notice of it. She still thought of it, however; and the longer she reflected on it, the greater was her Wonder, that Men, some of whom she knew were accounted to have Wit, should have Tastes very Depraved -- This excited a Curiosity in her to know in what Manner these Creatures were address'd" (Haywood, 1).
Fantomina follows the story of an unnamed female protagonist, who, because of her high social class isn't allowed to have meaningful conversations with males. She spots Beauplaisir, a man of her own social class, but is unable to speak with him because of her status. The female protagonist has a curiosity to know what it would be like to be addressed by these men, and because of this curiosity, she decides to disguise herself as a prostitute.
As Benedict says in her Introduction (Inspecting and Spectating: Monsters, Rarities, and Investigators), "curiosity has also been depicted as the cause of mankind's errors" (1) and that it is "the stigma of original or cultural corruption" (1). Haywood uses curiosity in this way to satire social classes; it is only because she is fed up with her restrictions of being in a high social class (and thus curious about what could be) that the female "changes" her social class standing. She continues to disguise herself three more times, all of which allow her to pursue a relationship with Beauplaisir, who doesn't notice. This furthers the satire that as she changes her social standing, her identity changes as well.
"I argue that English culture portrays curiosity as the mark of a threatening ambition, an ambition that takes the form of a perceptible violation of species and categories" (Introduction, 2)
" But they, either less surprised by being more accustomed to such Sights, than she who had been bred for the most Part in the Country, or not of a Disposition to consider any Thing very deeply, took but little Notice of it. She still thought of it, however; and the longer she reflected on it, the greater was her Wonder, that Men, some of whom she knew were accounted to have Wit, should have Tastes very Depraved -- This excited a Curiosity in her to know in what Manner these Creatures were address'd" (Haywood, 1).
Fantomina follows the story of an unnamed female protagonist, who, because of her high social class isn't allowed to have meaningful conversations with males. She spots Beauplaisir, a man of her own social class, but is unable to speak with him because of her status. The female protagonist has a curiosity to know what it would be like to be addressed by these men, and because of this curiosity, she decides to disguise herself as a prostitute.
As Benedict says in her Introduction (Inspecting and Spectating: Monsters, Rarities, and Investigators), "curiosity has also been depicted as the cause of mankind's errors" (1) and that it is "the stigma of original or cultural corruption" (1). Haywood uses curiosity in this way to satire social classes; it is only because she is fed up with her restrictions of being in a high social class (and thus curious about what could be) that the female "changes" her social class standing. She continues to disguise herself three more times, all of which allow her to pursue a relationship with Beauplaisir, who doesn't notice. This furthers the satire that as she changes her social standing, her identity changes as well.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Weekly Response 2 -- Wonder and Curiosity in RC
In the Angel reading for this week by Daston, we gain much discussion about curiosity and wonder -- namely the difference and link between the two. To what extent do we find wonder and curiosity -- especially the degrees of wonder (such as astonishment) -- in Robinson Crusoe, and where exactly are these moments?
"... but one of the several contributing causes was that the hidden or secret was the ideal object of admiration and curiosity. The causes of the hidden and the secret, by definition obscure, thereby set in motion the sequence of wonder-curiosity-attention" (Daston, 315).
"It happen'd one Day about Noon going towards my Boat, I was exceedingly surpriz'd with the Print of a Man's naked Foot on the Shore, which was very plain to be seen in the Sand: I stood like one Thunderstruck, or as I had seen an Appartition; I listen'd, I look'd round me, I could hear nothing, nor see any Thing; I went up to a rising Ground to look farther; I went up the Shore and down the Shoe, but it was all one, I could see no other Impression but that one, I went to it again to see if there were any more, and to observe if it might not be my Fancy; but there was no Room for that, for there was exactly the very Print of Foot, Toes, Hell, and every Part of a Foot; how it came thither, I knew not, nor could in the least imagine. But after innumerable fluttering Thoughts, like a Man perfectly confus'd and out of my self, I came Home to my Fortification, not feeling, as we say, the Ground I went on, but terrify'd to the last Degree, looking behind me at every Stump at a distance to be a Man; nor is it possible to describe how many various Shapes affrighted Imagination represented Things to me in, how many wild Ideas were found every Moment in my Fancy, and what strange unaccountable Whimsies came into my Thoughts by the Way" (Crusoe, 112).
In Daston's article, we are told the difference between wonder and curiosity (in this time), which turns out to be that "wonder [catches] the attention; curiosity [rivets] it (311). That is, we are impressed by something (wonder), and then we feel the need to investigate it (curiosity). There were several moments in the reading for this week, that caught my attention in pertaining to Robinson Crusoe.
Wonder and curiosity played with the idea of hidden or secret objects, which struck me as the island in Robinson Crusoe. It is a seemingly uninhabited island, and therefore hidden or secret, and elicits both curiosity from the readers and Crusoe himself. In Crusoe's case, it is because he is the only one to have survived the wreck and now must explore this island in order to find ways to survive; the reader's case is much the same: Crusoe is the only person to survive the wreck, and we are curious to find how he will survive, and to figure out if he is telling the truth. What really struck me in the readings, was the moment where Hooke was examining the fly under the microscope. "In order to rivet the attention up a common fly, Hooke had to transform it into a marvel by means of the microscope. Unmagnified, the fly barely registered in the observer's consciousness." In much the same way, Crusoe had to examine the island under a different light to survive. For example, in the beginning, he had a mental breakdown because he didn't know what to do, but after coming about the situation in a different mind, he was able to find places to live and transform them to create a shelter for himself.
In a broad sense, the paragraphs act as an example of wonder and curiosity, but Daston also wrote of varying degrees of wonder that one could face, one of which was astonishment. The difference between wonder and astonishment is described in these terms: "this serviceable 'Wonder' (admiration) was to be distinguished from a stupefying 'astonishment' (estonnement), which 'makes the whole body remain immobile like a statue, such that one cannot perceive any more of the object beyond the first face present, and therefore cannot acquire any more particular knowledge" (317). In essence, "astonishment is an excess of wonder"(318).
The example above taken from Robsinon Crusoe that examines his reaction to finding the footprint is a particular moment which I thought Crusoe to have an excess of wonder. He is astonished by finding this print, and almost stupefied by it. Although he does manage to run around the island and search for other prints, it is almost in a frenzy that leaves him unable to find more. Because he is so astonished by this print, he can't focus properly, and afterwards keeps imagining stumps in the background to be men, and various shapes continue to frighten him.
In particular, I found this article very helpful when reading Robinson Crusoe. It allowed me to go back to moments (like the scene on page 112) and do a closer reading of them, which in turn allowed me to reach moments of wonder, that, of course, lead to curiosity.
"... but one of the several contributing causes was that the hidden or secret was the ideal object of admiration and curiosity. The causes of the hidden and the secret, by definition obscure, thereby set in motion the sequence of wonder-curiosity-attention" (Daston, 315).
"It happen'd one Day about Noon going towards my Boat, I was exceedingly surpriz'd with the Print of a Man's naked Foot on the Shore, which was very plain to be seen in the Sand: I stood like one Thunderstruck, or as I had seen an Appartition; I listen'd, I look'd round me, I could hear nothing, nor see any Thing; I went up to a rising Ground to look farther; I went up the Shore and down the Shoe, but it was all one, I could see no other Impression but that one, I went to it again to see if there were any more, and to observe if it might not be my Fancy; but there was no Room for that, for there was exactly the very Print of Foot, Toes, Hell, and every Part of a Foot; how it came thither, I knew not, nor could in the least imagine. But after innumerable fluttering Thoughts, like a Man perfectly confus'd and out of my self, I came Home to my Fortification, not feeling, as we say, the Ground I went on, but terrify'd to the last Degree, looking behind me at every Stump at a distance to be a Man; nor is it possible to describe how many various Shapes affrighted Imagination represented Things to me in, how many wild Ideas were found every Moment in my Fancy, and what strange unaccountable Whimsies came into my Thoughts by the Way" (Crusoe, 112).
In Daston's article, we are told the difference between wonder and curiosity (in this time), which turns out to be that "wonder [catches] the attention; curiosity [rivets] it (311). That is, we are impressed by something (wonder), and then we feel the need to investigate it (curiosity). There were several moments in the reading for this week, that caught my attention in pertaining to Robinson Crusoe.
Wonder and curiosity played with the idea of hidden or secret objects, which struck me as the island in Robinson Crusoe. It is a seemingly uninhabited island, and therefore hidden or secret, and elicits both curiosity from the readers and Crusoe himself. In Crusoe's case, it is because he is the only one to have survived the wreck and now must explore this island in order to find ways to survive; the reader's case is much the same: Crusoe is the only person to survive the wreck, and we are curious to find how he will survive, and to figure out if he is telling the truth. What really struck me in the readings, was the moment where Hooke was examining the fly under the microscope. "In order to rivet the attention up a common fly, Hooke had to transform it into a marvel by means of the microscope. Unmagnified, the fly barely registered in the observer's consciousness." In much the same way, Crusoe had to examine the island under a different light to survive. For example, in the beginning, he had a mental breakdown because he didn't know what to do, but after coming about the situation in a different mind, he was able to find places to live and transform them to create a shelter for himself.
In a broad sense, the paragraphs act as an example of wonder and curiosity, but Daston also wrote of varying degrees of wonder that one could face, one of which was astonishment. The difference between wonder and astonishment is described in these terms: "this serviceable 'Wonder' (admiration) was to be distinguished from a stupefying 'astonishment' (estonnement), which 'makes the whole body remain immobile like a statue, such that one cannot perceive any more of the object beyond the first face present, and therefore cannot acquire any more particular knowledge" (317). In essence, "astonishment is an excess of wonder"(318).
The example above taken from Robsinon Crusoe that examines his reaction to finding the footprint is a particular moment which I thought Crusoe to have an excess of wonder. He is astonished by finding this print, and almost stupefied by it. Although he does manage to run around the island and search for other prints, it is almost in a frenzy that leaves him unable to find more. Because he is so astonished by this print, he can't focus properly, and afterwards keeps imagining stumps in the background to be men, and various shapes continue to frighten him.
In particular, I found this article very helpful when reading Robinson Crusoe. It allowed me to go back to moments (like the scene on page 112) and do a closer reading of them, which in turn allowed me to reach moments of wonder, that, of course, lead to curiosity.
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